The News that was

Two and a half years ago, the nation cringed, held its head in shame and erupted in protest. What of it?

It’s Business as usual. Girls are still being pinched, pushed, shoved, felt, caricaturised, discriminated and yes, are still worried. Worried to reach home by the evening, worried to move out at night, worried when in public transport, worried in Homes, Offices and between them and worried about their friends, mothers and daughters too. Being of eight or eighty doesn’t matter; someone needs to show the women her place.

May be, two and a half years is too less a time,too less for a nation teeming with people to understand humanity. Too less to realise that may be, the other half (often referred as better but probably, the worse) is asking for its legitimate space in the milieu and to provide it such, won’t be an act of gratitude but to right the wrongs of a millennia. Too less to cast away the misogyny and accept what we should be and not what we have become. The wound is in open festering with no healing touch in sight. What of it?

May be, we didn’t feel any shame. May be we just followed the crowd uttering pious slogans while using the issue to direct our anger against the system. The slumbering system did react. High-Powered committees were formed, recommendations were made and stricter laws were enacted. There were disagreements but the Centre did show some seriousness to tackle the issue. The Court’s decision against the perpetrators followed this course and was seen as an awakening of some sort. What of it?

And what about our entrenched misogyny? Have we cured ourselves out of it? From the very start, we showed our real colour. We teased the TV reporters, shouted slogans like ‘Chudiyan pehen kar baithe raho’, made advertisements openly advocating benevolent sexism and topped it with the obscure emotional rant of Delhi Police through a film actor: ‘har aurat ek ma, behen ya beti hoti hai’ (what about har mard ek bhai, baap ya beta hota hai? Never heard it). The Mard can be anything or nothing, it doesn’t matter; he commands respect. But justice for women only comes into being through her being related to the other sex. It is only through our benevolence that women can find her rightful place. Her Asmita depends on us providing Suraksha.

The equation of power remains unaltered. It is highly improbable that it happens soon even after the nation was caught red-handed. The upsurge of emotions died out soon and status-quo was maintained. Things are back to normal now with men as shameless and women as anxious. The forces of misogyny are back with vengeance and how? News is getting grimmer, Page 3 glossier and men more violent. New abuses are being uncovered everyday showing how vulnerable our women are. There needs to be an end to it but then, who will want to end it. Power corrupts and India, it seems, openly embraces all forms of corruption.

The only tangible change that the incident brought upon us was the placement of such news. From appearing as a side note on Page 3 covering ‘City news’ in the newspaper, the incidents have now become headlines. Every morning, they stare at us and us at them wondering ‘What of it’?