Women issues.... What is it actually??

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I am forced to break my long silence in my blog now… Been feeling like a pressure cooker after hearing too many criticisms and objections for a status update I did in my Facebook.

Finally, I thought I cannot live with this “pressure cooker” like thoughts inside me and the result is you are unfortunate enough to read this blog :)

Below is what I posted in FB:

I got the petition to sign seeking speedy punishment for the rapists in Damini case.... I do understand the sympathy and condemn this wild act by few animals who are in our society.

But, how does signing an internet petition, changing profile picture to black dot, etc. help? Are we satisfied that we 'protested' sitting in the comfort of our house/office? Everything else will be alright?

Once again, I think I have to blame the media... Only about 4 days back a 42 year old woman was raped by a person known to her and couple of others in same Delhi and was thrown on the road side.... Why no 'black dot' or internet petition signing campaign for that??? Because she is 42 year old?

Our people need to understand how to fight.... When the elections approach the public happily accepts all 'gifts' and freebies from the Government and bring the Government to power.... Why can't the public exercise their right properly first???

In no way I am supporting any of the criminal activities going on but these fights of signing petition and black dot profile pictures will help you as much as a paper boat will help you to overcome Tsunami waves...

 

After I posted above status, I got a lot of mails, FB chats, etc. condemning my status update and that I am not contributing anything towards a solution but only find faults in people’s unity in fighting a crime…  Some good souls also told me that I’m probably a MCP…

Now, here’s my viewpoint.   I am still of the belief that these internet petitions, changing of profile pictures, etc. does not help the society in any way.  These are just a publicity stunts and business tactics used by the media and general public are falling prey for it.

If we are really to fight and protest against women being abused and been seen only a sex objects, there are quite a few other areas which we need to look at before we go behind the rapists and other sexual assault culprits.

One of the major requests/demand by women who were on the street and internet protesting this was that ‘do not look at how we dress… bring up your son not to be a rapist’…

Wholeheartedly I agree with these women… Irrespective of how a woman dresses (again this is debatable and I will try to address this also at later part of this blog), we should respect women, first of all, as a fellow human being and we should not treat women as a sex object.

Now, my problem (I know I have too many problems) is why these women and women activist groups protest only against the rapist and leaving everybody else who portray women as sex object?

Who is the biggest culprit in portraying women only as a sex object?  Below are my views:

1.       The first place in this should go to the movie industry.  In majority of the movies (I’m talking about Tamil movies here), the only goal of the hero is to attract the heroine and get married to her… The way the screenplay is written in the movies for hero to achieve this should be awarded #1 spot for women abuse (many movies have references to women as “sema kattai”, “party”, “dhool figure”, etc.).

2.          The second place should also go to visual media… Here the winner is the advertising industry.  There only goal is to market the product they are representing.  They don’t care how they portray women or any other person in the advertisement.  Recent example being one of the condom advt. and also an advt. of Axe deo spray.  Does any women think it is a respectable portray of a woman who is shown as tearing the clothes of an elderly gentleman?

3.          Print media… They are always there in everything… Most of the magazines need a good looking, ‘less dressed’ actress or other photo in their cover so that the magazine can gain popularity.

4.          Cheer Leaders in IPL matches.  Are they portrayed as Ambassadors of world peace?  No, just ‘eye candy’.  When did Indian cricket fan say that he won’t come to the stadium if cheer leaders are not there?

5.          Other sorts of media – Why do you need what they call “race queens” in car races and motorcycle races?  Are the spectators coming there to see the race or to see the women?  This trend of using women as race queens is becoming popular in India also.

Why women and women activists do not protests against above people and demand them from stop using women as sex objects?  Is it because these are powerful people in big industry?  Or women forgot that these are also form of women abuse or women are portrayed badly?

One advertisement campaign I’ve been seeing in the last couple of days is what actually forced me into this blog… Advt. released by Gillette calling for soldiers to respect women… This is the height of ‘double act’.  Every Gillette advt. when they come out with new razors portrays that women will feel the man’s cheek and kiss if he has shaved using Gillette razor.  So, the company indirectly promoting their product saying if you want a kiss from a girl use my product.  What Gillette thought?  Women will kiss anybody who shaves with Gillette razor?  Is this a way to respect women?  And now they are releasing “public interest” advt. stating respect women…. Beautiful !!!

Now about the way some women dress.  How can people say “don’t worry about how I have dressed… Still respect me as a woman”?

Provocative dressing by both gender should be restricted.  India has not fully got used to the so-called western culture.   If a group of men come out and say we plan to wear only underwear… Do not worry about how we dress, just respect us as men… Will women accept this? Or is it really good for the society?

There should be a line drawn as to what is respective clothing in public.

A pub in one of malls in Gurgaon was closed.  Mall management justified the closure stating the pub is ‘raunchy’ to be operating in a mall.  What did some of the regular women customers of this pub do?  They removed their tops and were only in under garments protesting against closure of the bar.  The CCTV footage of this was spreading like viral in internet for a while (web link: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gurgaon-sahara-mall-eunuchs-stripping-cctv-footage-raunchy-pubs/1/241072.html).

So, these women who protested for their pub’s closure deserve respect when they start stripping in a mall?  Again, this is a minority group of women and I understand that.  Similarly, both the genders have their own faults and plus points.

I don’t know if I feel better after writing this blog.  But as many of you know I always wanted to convey my opinion rather than keeping it to myself.  We cannot be partial in our protests.  Anybody and everybody who is involved should be straightened. 

As many of you know, so far I have restrained myself from writing anything political in my blogs… Whoever follows Indian political scene, please read about the new emergency law passed by the Indian Government to by-pass few recommendations made by Varma commission.  Why no protests from public for this??