Keep The Fire Burning

Friends, Delhites and Countrymen,

The New Year is upon us. The beginning of the New Year is a time for fresh starts and second chances. It is a time to make changes in our lives and in those of others. It is the time to leave things behind but I would hope that one of the things we choose not to leave behind is the determination and outrage that has forced us to take to the streets and demand justice for the anonymous rape victim, to demand that our country and especially our nation’s capital be places where women feel safe and protected.

The month of December has seen the youth of Delhi take to the streets in outrage. I would like to believe this is because the latest case, where a girl was gang-raped in a moving bus, was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. That it was the catalyst that would not allow us to silently accept things as they were anymore. However I find myself wondering how many people were present at the many protests because it was the “cool and fashionable” thing to do and how many people where there because they truly want Indian women to feel safe and the perpetrators of these crimes to be punished.

Along with the rest of the country I too watched the zealous protestors on the news and read about them in the papers. It makes me hope that the people who were there for the right reasons far outnumber those that were there for superficial reasons. But it remains to be seen if this “movement” is a flash-bang grenade or a steady ever increasing flame.

One of the ways that we can ensure that the movement is not easily forgotten is to, often and openly, talk about the issues that have been raised and the possible solutions that we can come up with, to educate those around us until there is not a single Indian left who does not understand what we hope to achieve.

The effectiveness of a movement is directly proportionate to its staying power. All successful movements in history have been able to sustain themselves and instill hope in their supporters and member for years and even decades at a time! The movement that we have begun, the struggle to keep the fairer half of our population safe is one that deserves all the fuel it can get. It needs to keep steady and remain in the foreground until the government and society takes the kinds of actions that need to be taken, not rise up fast and passionate every time there is a horrific incident reported by the media  but die down just as fast having made no effective difference.

Dear country, it is no longer enough to just let the victims and society know that you care, you must step up and help in the process of change. Actions speak louder than words, the old saying holds true even now!

This movement is close to all our hearts and it is our duty to ensure that the fire keeps burning and that our efforts bear fruit.

Let the New Year see us keep up our efforts with new vigor and determination!!  

WHAT IS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN?

I strongly believe that the first step to solving a problem is to identify and define the problem. Since we’re talking about violence against women and the role that men can play in preventing it, the first hurdle that we arrive at is understanding what violence against women is. 

Violence against women is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women. Similar to a hate crime, this type of violence targets a specific group with the victim's gender as a primary motive.

The United Nations General Assembly defines "violence against women" as "any act of gender-based violenc that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."  The 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women noted that this violence could be perpetrated by assailants of either gender, family members and even the "State" itself.

Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread violations of human rights. It can include physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse, and it cuts across boundaries of age, race, culture, wealth and geography. It takes place in the home, on the streets, in schools, the workplace, in farm fields, refugee camps, during conflicts and crises. It has many manifestations — from the most universally prevalent forms of domestic and sexual violence, to harmful practices, abuse during pregnancy, so-called honour killings and other types of femicide.

Some historians believe that the history of violence against women is tied to the history of women being viewed as property and a gender role assigned to be subservient to men and also other women.

Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women, and that violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men.

Thus having understood the problem we, and indeed men, can move forward and take active action to prevent violence against women.

Having realized that the victims of such violence are mothers, sisters, daughters, wives and friends, men are faced with an important choice. The path that they choose to follow from here on will determine if they become the heroes or the villans in the lives of women everywhere.

So my question to you, to all men, is- Knowing the consequences, your actions could have, who would you choose to be, the subject of women’s admiration or the subject of their disdain??

This Blog is part of the Men Say No Blogathon, encouraging men to take up action against the violence faced by women.

More entries to the Blogathon can be read at www.mustbol.in/blogathon. Join further conversation on facebook.com/delhiyouth &twitter.com/mustbol