Hundreds of thousands of books, articles, debates, and protests have been done about this topic and
anything we say will feel like repetition. Although, after going through what seemed like an ocean of
information, a very interesting pattern emerges. The stories always work in a progression backed up
by the reaction of the masses. Let’s try and take a deeper look.
When we hear about words like rape, molestation, gender violence, domestic violence, etc. The
conversation always goes in the direction of victim blaming, perhaps not right away but eventually. It
starts with the ordeal of the victim and escalates to how the system failed; it starts with blaming the
perpetrator then the police followed by the government and in the end the victim. Society including the
media and politicians start suggesting macabre archaic punishments such as mob lynching,
castration, and stoning, going to the darkest corners of the mind. These perpetrators are labeled as
inhumane monsters and unworthy of living. Once this drive of pure aggression starts dying down, we
collectively start blaming the system, how the police failed to protect the victim, the laws are not strict
enough, the government does not care, and so on. This notion is followed by the analysis of the
situation where the incidents were allowed to happen. Everyone starts talking about the need for
women to be trained in self-defense, carrying pepper sprays, having a peer system, and hundreds of
other measures that can be taken. It all ends with a question, why was the victim in a situation where
such a thing could happen? A perpetual moral policing dawns upon the womankind. Everyone
becomes an expert on how women should behave, what is supposed to be worn by them, the correct
age for getting married and the list goes on.
When it comes to the reasons behind the actions of these men (the monsters), the list seems rather
minuscule, it’s porn, drugs, alcohol and that’s pretty much it.
Now one thing that always gets lost in this path to “salvation” is a mirror of the society itself. Why don’t
we ask some questions to ourselves? Questions like, what did the society do to create monsters like
that? What are the parents doing to ensure that their children do not objectify women? What are we
doing as a society to provide a safe environment for someone who is dealing with violent thoughts?
These are questions we ought to ask ourselves if we take violence against women as a problem for
society rather than a problem for women.
According to the 2021 annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 31,677 rape
cases were registered across the country, or an average of 86 cases daily and these are only the
registered ones.
So, it’s about time we turn the finger toward ourselves and ask a few serious questions rather than
expressing our anger vehemently and moving on with our lives.
Climate Change
The earth – our home, as we know so far is the only planet in the solar system containing life. As fascinating and wonderful it
