Doodles.pdf Jul. 2014 | Page 20

Why this happened? Why can’t we stop such incidents from occurring?... Many questions may arise, many arguments can be drawn. What could be the reason??. We may defend the brutal act committed by a desperate man by pointing out to the kind of dress the victim wore. I have heard comments like “ the kind of dress she wore is the prime reason, when will these girls understand”. What to understand??. So can we conclude that the sole reason for such incident is the gestures or the dressing sense of the victim? Is it not a girls right to wear the kind of attire she wishes to?. Imagine a scene where a thief is being interrogated by police officer. How will you respond to a statement like this “ I was passing through the street and I noticed that the house was wide open so I broke into it”. Will you punish the culprit or rather make expert comments about the owner of the house? The act of stealing someone else’s property is wrong even though it is not protected. In the same manner, kind of attire or gestures or attitude are all secondary aspect. Khap panchayat banned girls from wearing jeans. This law was formulated in 12 villages of a district named jhajjar in Harayana. Gujjars, an ethnic group banned jeans and the usage of cellphones by girls. A senior Khap panchayat member supported the law by saying “We believe that cell phones and jeans are making our girls immoral and leading to such dreadful activities”. Dear Reader, Is this an appropriate way of reducing crime against women by delimiting the freedom of women in turn? They mean that its not a man’s mentality which has to be changed but rather a women’s need, her desire that has to be controlled. How can we be so sure that a rape case will not occur to a women in saree or other Indian traditional dresses. when will these girls understand ? 20