When a woman is beaten in public....

Ranking on the list of first-timers who had cast their vote in the recent Delhi elections, I was perhaps the only adult who had given her first vote at the age of 22. Although a big secret as officially I am just 19, thanks to the authorities for lessening my age. Had they increased my age, I would have ruined their days by taking repeated rounds of their office. Thankfully, this is not the case and I am not bothering anybody for showing me under-age.

The callous administrative system, poor security checks, party politics, election propaganda are certain issues that should be left with someone better to talk about, for I want to spare my thoughts on something unsightly that happened just outside the election venue.

After thinking hard on which party to choose and casting my vote in the favor of the same, I was merrily racing my way back to the car, when I found hordes of people standing before my car. Certainly, something was wrong, I feared it shouldn’t be my car hit this time, for there were so many cars parked neck-to neck on the busy road and traffic was continuously coming from both the directions thus creating a messed situation. And also my car is jinxed as fellow drivers always bang it in an attempt to drive their cars out of parking area. But, fortunately nothing happened to my car this time. On going little closer I found two girls sitting in a car, who were badly crying. While they were just raring to go, I discovered that the front glass of their car was poorly smashed as if somebody has deliberately broken the shield by throwing heavyweight stones. A few meters away from their car, I saw a group of men going while shouting, “hum congressi hain, congressi”. Still I couldn’t gather what all happened, people were trying to console those girls and I heard a man saying “mujhe pata hai ye gundagardi hai, magar abhi app jaao”.

While an old man just entered the scene scolding other people around for not taking any action, I asked a fellow standing there about what all happened. To my surprise, I found that while those girls were trying to take their car out of the parking, they just happened to hit a car parked nearby. Not much harm occurred, not even a single scratch found and owner started lashing out at those innocent girls, not just abusive words he started inflicting blows into her stomach and like usual, people around were passively watching. She pleaded, so did her family, only to find them in an ugly situation as he continued punching her. After finishing the job, while he was ecstatically walking away with his gang, people standing there started giving their advices, as if they were the ones who helped her pass through all this.

I am shocked to find this 21st century male who did not think twice before beating a lady, almost in front of the policemen. Powerful and wealthy, uncouth men (like him) grow large under the clout of power and paisa. They keep police in their pocket, law under their shoe and public in their fist.

At a time when men are advised to be “second” to a female, for now many laws are in the favor of them and even a false complaint could take them to imprisonment, that fellow didn’t fear at all. In fact, police was standing at an arm’s distance, had she called them, the case could have gone in her favor and he would have probably been behind bars. But, their presence was also of no avail, as she didn’t call them. The unexpected harrowing experience might have kept her away from taking a stern action, also when you see so many people witnessing your plight you tend to get discouraged.

The whole incident was so demeaning that I started cursing myself for being a female. I still don’t know, what to do and how to correct the system and society, but I know one thing that we should certainly do something now, as it is now or never. Even after coming so far, if we find ourselves an object of disgust in this male dominated society, we actually stand nowhere.

If we will keep relying on the system-police, law and politicians to bestow us a respectable status, they might end up giving us a list of rights and duties, because they alone cannot change the mind of a common man. Men would continue to set us at naught until we clear haze on their misconceptions. We can only change the society, be it of putting an end to rapes, physical torture, child marriage or any other evil, because they don’t fear law, police or government. Evidently, women have proved themselves time and again and will continue doing so till life exists on earth. This is how our tradition is and the time has come when we should take reign in our hands and fight for our position.

May be our intelligence and abilities were not enough to show them what we are capable of, for now even if we have to come to blows with men, we should not hesitate and defeat them in their own way.

Shruti Kakkar