Molestation, A Heinous Crime

Molestation, A Heinous Crime: Stop Promoting It,

Start Respecting Women

‘Hey! Don’t you think this dress is too skimpy for this kind of gathering?’

‘Are you sure you can easily carry this skirt to college, isn’t it too short?’

‘Don’t be late from the party, it’s not safe outside’

Girls who wear shorts aren't looked at with respect by a reasonable portion of the society. If you're just too blunt and straightforward, you're regarded as mannerless. If you normally return home late night, then you're too outgoing and flamboyant, you're 32 and still unmarried then maybe you're too broadminded to fit in the conservative Indian society, these are a few of the rationale that people have for supporting their cliché viewpoints. According to a particular section of the society that unfortunately is in majority, if women wear revealing clothing, they are themselves responsible for molestation and rapes that happen to them as it provokes men and remaining outside homes late night gives the right to people to tease or physically harass girls.

This was a shameful act which showed that any third individual has the right to molest or outrage the modesty of a woman and can escape easily after performing this brazen acts. On one hand, as a nation, we feel proud of this uncontrolled progress of our nation concerning engineering, education and employment etc. while on the flip side, we are still trapped in a traditional, fairly orthodox mindset. We want our women to study, pick a livelihood for themselves, excel and make a mark at the society then why do we inflict certain conformist opinions on them which eventually restricts their expansion, makes them feel insecure and attracts them back whenever they wish to do something unconventional. We want our girls to be extra cautious of the security while they go out, be considerate while they talk and that's not using abusive language as it makes people think that she manner less while for guys, it's merely a bad habit that's not so harmful. We want them to dress up in a apparel that leads to minimum skin show however we actually admire when our favourite Bollywood divas showcase their swanky and revealing clothes on screen, we don't want them to select a career that needs them to remain out late as it is not'safe' or a job which needs long working hours as it hampers their family life or that I should say the comfort of their family members. While we pass multiple judgements on how women act, dress up and take themselves in general, why not we ever form any judgements around men. As a society, why can not we teach our guys to act like real men so that women can feel safe on the streets or anywhere while they are surrounded by the opposite sex? If women wear shorts, they are neither provoking men to come and molest them they are seducing them. What one wishes to wear is his private selection and a woman's personality should not be judged by her attire, while salwar kameez is considered as a decent Indian apparel but a short skirt does not give anyone the right to ogle or tease women. Instead of preaching girls about what to do and things not to do, if we begin to teach guys to be opinionated about women regardless of what they wear and what kind of lifestyle they contribute then girls can live in a relatively safer society. We have to understand the fact that women are also as much of a human as men are and they sense disrespect when ill-treated or judged too much. Thus, do not consider woman's apparel or her flashy lifestyle as a floor for molestation, if you think yourself as someone with a contemporary outlook then do not try to restrain women's behavior, just alter your thinking.

“Nothing is more beautiful than freedom, and nothing more grotesque than its molestation.”

― Bryant McGill, Voice of Reason