I just found my way to this blog named BlankNoise Project. Felt like its a worthwhile effort and so shud b a part of it.It focussed on the topic Eve-Teasing, and so let me express my views on it.
So, What is Eve-Teasing?
Literally speaking it is the harassment of, or sexually aggressive behaviour towards, women or girls.It is like some unwarranted efforts to lure the female gender.But I would say, it is a very subjective term. I say this becoz of wht i hear from ppl who talk abt eve-teasing.Agreed, any unsolicited and sexually explicit act shud b termed eve-teasing. But if one includes things like staring or glaring in this purview, I wud beg 2 differ.If you would even not allow such things to happen in society, its like not allowing an outlet for feelings. As such stares and glares are unharmed, they shud b taken in tht stride. But yes, the definition of defining such glares is also subjective, n so i wud stop defending them till this point.
Now, wht are the causes of eve-teasing?
There are a no. of causes behind this.
As female gender is considered the fairer and the weaker sex,they are considered more vulnerable.Esp. in places like India, which is having a male-dominated society, it is considered a male’s fundamental right to behave in any manner with females.It is in fact a way of showing male’s superiority over females.
Also,being a suppressed lot, females generally dont always raise their voices against such harassment, which makes the males more bold in their approaches. Due to social stigma for a girl, less and less cases are reported.
Another reason is the old laws existing in India over eve-teasing.First of all, the corruption doesn’t catch the real culprits, with they being let off on mayb a small favour or money.Even if they are caught, Indian laws don’t have stringent punishments for them.There are enof loopholes to go scot-free.There have been very few convictions in such cases.
Also, lack of education is also a contributing factor to such a menace. Illiterate and uneducated people consider this as their birthright and see nothing wrong in it.They are unaware of the trauma of the girl who faces such harassment.But one wonders then what happens in the metro cities, good educational institutions etc. Incidents in such places make ppl wonder whether education contributes to controlling such a problem. But i feel it does. Good and healthy environment at school and home makes a person respect the other sex, and understand the limitations.
What do the statistics say?
Track Record of India in case of eve-teasing is horrendous. In fact, it looks like this word came into public dialogue out of this country. If one does a search on Google, most of the results pertain to India, tht means tht this issue is a growing problem for our country.
It is estimated that every 51 minutes a woman is sexually harassed in India,and every 21 minutes one woman is molested.This statistic in itself is alarming, and something needs to be done on an urgent basis to stop it.Tht is one reason tht this issue has now come into public glare and is getting attention in the form of such initiatives like BlankNoise Project.
What are the solutions to fight it?
The first and foremost solution to fighting is a change in attitude.The attitude of Indian male has to be changed if this menace has to be eradicated. A general respect for the female gender will go a long way in building a healthy society.
Otherwise, government needs to bring in stringent measures to curb this problem.People shud b given harsh sentences, and such cases shud b brought in public domain for ppl to understand and to fear doing any such thing.
I, for one, wud say, tht one of such people shud b left to public punishment where they are left to be tortured by people in public places.one such case wud go a long way in scaring the wits out of a lot of people.
So, in the end, I wud say, eve-teasing is a menace for society. It should be fought hard and an effort needs to be directed towards this direction for eradicating it from the society and making it a healthy one.
Asset
Me n some of my frenz hv been thinking abt how 2 spend the new year’s eve. As it was after a long time tht v 3 (me, aps n pops) were together, n also tht pops was going 2 get married very soon.
December was an expensive month for me, n so i was even ready 2 spend the day on a beer watching Doordarshan (forget abt Sony, Star etc.).So, initially both Aps (Apurva) n Pops (Rishi) were damn excited abt the thing, n was even thinking of going 2 Goa. Tht idea was shelved coz of some inputs from others, who told tht Goa wud b very crowded at this time, n also to some extent by each of our financial situations. Then v were thinking of going 2 Ooty, but as Aps had been there, v again had 2 find a new place. Somehow, this place called Wayanad cropped up from nowhere, n v zeroed on it. One week b4 the new year was spent exploring the place on the net, making good use of our company’s resources. But there was one problem, v cudnt book a hotel b4hand as evrythg was full. I was getting scared as i had faced some hotel blues at some other tourist place. But aps n pops were so enthusiastic tht i had to aquiesce.Aps had already booked a taxi from Mysore, n me n pops had 2 join him from Bangalore. V reached on friday night, n called quits much earlier n much more moderately tht day than v normally do on fridays.
(more…)
September 28, 2005
So, Paheli has been chosen to represent India at Oscars. Though I haven’t seen the movie, but the storyline, star cast n reviews make me feel it must b a real good one.
Even then, I feel for ‘Black’, such a beautiful movie, with some spirited performances, would have done much better. Anyhow, I am not a film critic, so hope the people at the helm must be knowing better.
But I don’t wish to discuss which of the above two movies is better.But that, why does an Indian film don’t win an oscar. Is it some apartheid, some lobbying that keeps us away, or is it poor movies themselves.
(more…)
September 26, 2005
Cricket is religion in India. Ppl may b illiterate or may not know country’s PM or Prez, but they surely know abt cricket, n how India is faring.That is the reason the current spat between Indian coach Greg Chappell, and Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has taken so many inches of media space.
Since last 2 days, since that vituperative e-mail went public, media is losing no stone unturned and is coming up with their weirdest predictions about the outcome.Whatever be the result, Indian cricket has suffered a blow at least for now, and it will take some time and a brave will n effort to resurrect it.
(more…)
September 16, 2005
I was going to give a background to the IT industry first but I think i’ll do it sometimes later.Before that, let me delve on some of the myths about the Software industry, and try to use my first-hand experience to bring out the truth. (more…)
September 14, 2005
Carrying on from the last blog:
Starting a blog comes with its nuances.When I was asked for a name, I thought like giving some time, n coming out with the best name. But all of a sudden this word “Utopia” came 2 my mind, n i decided on it.
So, what is Utopia? For those who are not well versed with the language,in its most common and general meaning, it refers to an imaginary perfect society, that has not existed (yet), or that can never exist because people are unable to reach perfection or endure tyranny forever. It has also been used to describe actual communities founded in attempts to create such a society.
(more…)
September 13, 2005
Ahh at last I have got myself a blog. How long have I waited for this day, it seems eternity.
This is what a person yearns for when he/she has an internet connection at his disposal, and a whale of time to pass.Internet has given birth to many a idea, but this one seems different in a sense it aims to provide an identity to people, and also help them to put valuable manhours into some constructive work, or some may say destructive.
Blogging needs time, n so it is only for people who have got loads of it. Though if u ask neone these days whether he is free, he would retort with such a look that just smells of expletives.
(more…)