Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh – a self-proclaimed MSG (messenger of god), who also dabbles in film and rock music – was convicted for raping two of his followers and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment. So far, so good. But what happened next was appalling, though not unexpected. This verdict lead to a terrible riot by his followers, leaving around 38 people dead and many others injured. And to top all that, here are some tweets:-
Sakshi Maharaj says ‘only’ 1 woman accused #RamRahimSinghof rape, but crores are his bhakts. Its a conspiracy against Indian culture he says.
A new threat to Sadhus: Politicians& ashramites wanting to grab Ashram wealth by sending the Swamijis to jail. Sadhus must groom successors.
Incidentally, the alarming level of support for the alleged rapist reminded me of another recent high-profile case – the abduction and subsequent molestation of a popular Malayalam actress. The actress did get a lot of support, but when another even more popular and powerful actor was questioned, the needle swung to his favor. People from the film industry as well as many others, The discussion soon became all about the actor, no more about the victim.
And yet, people scrunch their noses up at feminism and feminists. Feminism is now a dirty word. Each time women try to speak up, they say that we are playing the ‘woman’ card and the ‘victim’ card. I agree. We do play these so-called cards. Because that is the only way we can let ourselves heard in this patriarchal, chauvinistic, male-dominated society.
You may disagree with me, but I still stand by what I said. I am a girl who is living away from home, who has to lead an independent life. And I know how difficult it is to be a woman in India. Many men will claim that they know, they understand. But I doubt how much they do. They don’t know how it feels to frequently have eyes staring at you the wrong way. They don’t know how careful, how guarded we have to be at all times. Everything men can do without even a thought – from going for a walk at night, to going alone in an auto or a cab, to posting a selfie in social media, to even tweeting an opinion. – we women have to think a thousand times before doing so. We never know when they can turn against us.
So yes, we will talk about feminism. We will talk about women’s rights. This is not the first time I’m writing about women, and this surely will not be the last. Because that is the only way we can make people understand that it’s not hunky-dory for us. We have to fight for everything – equal pay, equal opportunity, even for reaching home safe. And we will keep talking, so that at some point, men will understand and aid us in our fight to stop fighting. Because I don’t know what utopia most of you think we’re living in. But truth is…being a woman in this world, especially in India, is not easy. At all.
I’m not generalizing all men here. There are many men who are genuinely fighting with us. But sadly, they are too few in number if you look at the larger picture. ‘Many’ is not enough. It should be ‘all’ men. Because, as a society, we can only change if each member changes.
Most people live in ignorance. Even women, for that matter. Many believe that nothing bad will happen to them as long as they are careful. But that is not true. Recently a video went viral – of a girl being molested in broad daylight by a group of men, on the road. We live in a country where such things happen. So I urge all women to keep fighting, keep talking, keep speaking up for themselves. We need to keep striving to make India a country where conviction of a rapist leads to celebrations, not riots.
And lastly, take a look at Siddharth Malhotra’s tweet after this Ram Rahim fiasco.
To all the people of Haryana , please stay safe. Hope you can see our film soon #Agentleman #PeaceAndLove
PLEASE! Height of ignorance on display here! These are people who are looked up to. Who can make an impact, make a difference. If even during such a grave issue…the only thing they can think about is their upcoming film….what can you expect from the rest of the not-so-privileged? He has an education, doesn’t he? If this is all an educated man can think about at this point, I worry if there is any point in even hoping for a better world, a world where women are safe as men. Where women and men coexist in harmony.
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