Most of the Indian
women till the recent times – were the ones considered the
compromising ends of family. They served in the form of wives,
mothers and 'bahus' (daughters-in-law) who were supposed to abide by
the family regulations and 'be within the limits'. In the financially
challenged families they were bound to be the 'poor little thing'
sacrificing their studies for the sake of their younger brothers, who
in the long run would become the proud recipients of heavy dowry.
Girls were in fact considered 'burden' to the family, who would have
their fathers pay dowry for them, at the time of their marriage.
There have been numerous other restrictions on girls like in their
dressing and timings outside the house and what not. They have been
the pitiable sex for the many said and unsaid reasons.
That was one time.
For the rural areas, today the situation is still the same, even
worse at places. But with education and westernization, urban lot has
opened up to radical and noble thoughts. Women now have learned to
take responsibilities other than household works too and they have
started coming out of unnecessary rituals. They are now more learned
and informed. Men too have learned to respect their female
counterparts and they have also started understanding the many
challenges faced by the women of all age groups. The mothers-in-law
are now more cooperative and empathise with the challenges their bahus
face. The 'kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi' concept has started taking
shape already!
But howsoever cool
that sounds, the crude fact is, even the urban women are bereft of
the full freedom men enjoy. There would be no exception to the case
that a woman would not have suffered an unwelcomed stare by the stray
men on streets. Men on the other hand are blessed gender in this
case. The women, whichever class they belong, are still the victim of
unwanted comments or indecent looks by some cheap men on streets.
This is indeed sad,
as few men have still not come over the barbaric nature within.
Education has no doubt uplifted the mass, but there is way more to
happen. For a nation to become independent of such handcuffs,
education in the form of enligtenment is the need of the hour. First
education of child starts at home. So the parents have the utmost
responsibility to build a nation free of such blots in future. There
is no such law that forbids men from staring at a woman's dress and
making her uncomfortable. The sense has to come from the concsious
within.
With that said its
time now to get things done. This was a small article to cover the
scenario of the urban ladies only, who are not that free as they
seem. Non-urban women need a bigger space to be covered, shall do
that in another blog. Hope for a much beautiful society is up and
running.
