The Leading Ladies…

I read two articles today in Times Life…one was titled, “Mighty opponents in a Hijab” and the other one was named “Off with her Tee”. I was mildly surprised with the content.

Here is the Link.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/people/Mighty-opponents-in-a-hijab/articleshow/12314729.cms

-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/people/Off-with-her-tee/articleshow/12314768.cms

The reason I’m sharing these articles is quite simple. They talk about different facets of being a woman. One article talks about Iranian women, dressed from head-to-toe, with only their face and hands visible, playing a close-contact game like Kabbadi with their Indian counterparts, who effortlessly hop and snatch in shorts with the ease of a wild predator. The picture in the newspaper itself is so expressive. It speaks so much about the plight and oppression women face in countries like Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and to some extent even India. The word ‘liberty’ is alien to them and they do as they are told by the government.

The other article was about the so-called infamous ‘FEMEN’ activists. Again the picture literally screamed a thousand words. When I first saw the picture, I was amazed by the audacity of the newspaper printing such pictures, topless Ukrainian girls with ‘crisis’ written against their breast. Then my mind told me to act matured and read the article. The article was just an interview, but it reflected so much more. The girls were there to create a difference, they were fearless of speculation and determined to be heard. That’s the reason why they opted for protesting topless, it grabs attention, and well it surely does!

I have a fear that I might be becoming a ‘feminist’. After all, all my blogs inevitably merge in one direction- women exploitation and distress. But reading this article came as a huge relief. It made me inhale a relaxed puff of air; women are definitely facing oppression in some or the other form and voicing opinion in their stand is not feminism, it’s called revolutionizing. Call me a female chauvinist, and I’ll be glad. Since my tender teenage years, I have felt both, disgust and infatuation, by women atrocities. If ever I could do something to uplift their status, that day would be like a nirvana for me!

Anyways let’s talk more about FEMEN (based in Ukraine, Russia). This group intrigues me, they display their assets, are stared upon by mobs, and they fight for women rights. Imagine, just standing in front of the Indian embassy, demanding non-biased visa policies, topless, with “I’m not a Prostitute” written on their chest, these girls have the nerves to shake the embassy. I’ve been at loggerheads with my mind deciding whether their methods of protesting are ethically acceptable. In response they say this is the best means of grabbing media attention and nailing the culprit. Well I have to agree. Peaceful protest request you to be patient, wait until you are heard and then wait further more until your demands are looked upon. On the contrary the FEMEN activists make sure they are heard the very instant their protest begins, that’s impactful. They are now termed as Russia’s topless warriors! (and yes, I’m smiling :-) )

From 2008 to the present day the group has fought against sex tourists, against the Putin government and for women rights. By 2017, they will muster enough support to launch women revolution in the female oppressed Ukraine.  Some goal that is!

I was reading and researching more about this group when I came across another female activist, Sampat Devi, the queen and founder of ‘Gulabi gang’. Being a child bride, this lady has witnessed the harsh reality of Uttar-Pradesh that cinema or television can only try to depict. When she could take it no more, this ice-cream vendor’s wife established her own Ping gang, the members of which wear pink saris, and fire lathis on anyone acting acridly or harshly with women. These Pink vigilante women beat up corrupt officials, fight against child marriage, prevent domestic violence (by beating up husbands!) and provide grains to the under-nourished.  These ladies are not exactly a group of male-bashing feminists – they are in fact 'female guardians'.

And these ladies are still under-cover, very few might have even heard about Sampat Devi or Anna Hutsol. What we might have definitely heard of, are names like, Anandi, or Pratigya or Ichcha….the women suffering in ‘reel’ life. But here are ladies who have seen harsher times in ‘real’ life. And they’ve given it all back to the world with a Bang. For me, these are my movie Heroes and my Anandi’s and my Pratigya's… these are my Leading Ladies…

The Two Extreme Political Cardinals

Two years back when Rahul Gandhi visited my university and addressed the college-crowd, I thought he depicted the epitome of leadership, his poise had a striking resemblance to the Late PM Rajiv Gandhi, his humbleness promised pure and clean politics, his communication was confident, fluent and filled with conviction, and he invoked a sense of faith in his listeners….I thought ‘finally’ India will be governed by a deserving candidate.

Now, in 2012, the unshakeable trust grounded in my heart has somewhat lost its foundation and I question the future of India if it ever lies in his captaincy.

Reason: Very simple. He took the Gandhi name for granted for far too long. He made several promises to the underprivileged, but fulfilled very few. He kept mum during the Anna Hazare campaign when actually he should have voiced his opinion loud and clear. And lastly, he failed to win even a single seat for Congress in his own constituency (Amethi)! Too much hype had been created, too much faith had been bestowed and too many projections had been made about this man, but he failed blatantly. The only reason this man is still valued is because of the surname that he tags along with his name. He is the fourth generation to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has dominated the Congress party, and to a large extent Indian politics. I believe almost every Indian inevitably grounds his faith in the Gandhi family, and the reason why Congress has survived for so long is because the Gandhi pack holds its reins.

But the magic-wand of Sonia Gandhi is losing its charm and her well-projected son just faced a massive blow in UP polls. Where Rahul emerged as an utter flop-show in this year’s elections, an unheard name meticulously worked hard to win a trusted position in Uttar Pradesh. A man named Akhilesh Yadav. This no-nonsense tech savvy man, invariably accompanied by an iPad that dangles by his side, a Anna-like topi adorning his head  and an unassuming non-flamboyant air that follows him, brought glory to Samajwadi Party at an early age of 38. Very little is known about Akhilesh, but from what I collected, I understand he is a man if grit, determination and humility. He never disclosed his identity (that of being Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son) in his college, nor did he use his ever so-strong political connections for his benefit. Where on one end, Rahul was nurtured and publicly exhibited as the future face of Congress party, the latter was kept under-cover and educated thoroughly. While there have been uncountable rumours about Rahul being arrested with his Columbian girlfriend in Boston, Akhilesh has thrived with a clean image in our minds. Both represent extreme ends of politics, and both rely on purely opposite tactics of winning over people. Rahul travelled in local trains to manifest his so-called ‘common-man’ image, while Akhilesh actually took his image of being a common man seriously. He flies by economy class every time, unlike the flamboyant chopper trips of Rahul Gandhi.

But above all, what swept me away is his honest attempt to develop UP. I recently heard that Akhilesh Yadav has created a Facebook page where he’ll be inviting suggestions for UP’s development. Now doesn’t this remind you of Anil Kapoor’s ‘Nayak’?  What Style, What Optimism and What Charisma. 

This man is here to transform the face of politics, and for good!

I hope Uttar Pradesh’s youngest chief minister will induce development with a pinch of technology and a slice of education.  

After all he is what every Indian yearns for in politics, young, dynamic and most importantly literate.

Superstitious, Are You?

Love, such an abstract, undefined word.

Like a fountain, it ejects out happiness to one extreme end of the pool and sadness to the other end. I’ve been in situations when my mind literally waged a war deciding one vital question- whether it’s happy being single or is relationship a better way of living life. Of course, till date, I’ve failed to get an answer. Anyways that’s not the reason why I’m writing this blog. As I said, love brings happiness, but it also bestows sadness. And Indian culture with its high-melodramatic love stories, brings with it every possible emotion- bliss, fear, fights, tears, tension and dejection.

Recently one my friend grudged about being a ‘manglik’ and her boyfriend worried over the fact whether marriage was on their cards. Common now, seriously? We live in the ultra-modernized extremely-broadminded 21^st century, where people have more conviction in science than superstitions. And yet, I find this perplexed couple fretting over their future on a baseless manglik issue. Look at Aishwariya and Abhishek,  have you noticed that Abhishek is still alive, and they both even have a daughter? And well for your knowledge, Aishwariya is a manglik. I don’t disregard the whole ‘manglik’ or ‘mangal dosh’ thing, but making it the base for all matrimonial decisions is an absurd idea. The topping on this cake is still left, my friend went a step ahead, she went for online assistance for matching kundlis and finding solutions for manglik dosh. I wondered out loud then, “Such things exist online?” “Oh yes they do, I even found a matrimonial site for all mangliks”, she said. I could utter nothing except issue a deep sigh.

Indian culture is an unpredictable, highly volatile bag. Before a marriage, we have ten different issues that need to be settled down- Is the girl or boy of the same caste? Does he/she eat non-veg? What is the prospect’s education? What is his or her background? Can her father give dowry? Can she cook? How much does he earn?……and blah blah blah. Parents are concerned, agreed, but marriage in Indian context, has become more of a job profile’s check-list than a blissful union of two souls. Christians also marry, do they live unhappily because they do not match kundlis? Parents are concerned about their daughter’s marriage as soon as she turns eighteen, mothers set on a groom-hunting mission in every possible marriage, fathers worry over the marriage expenses of their still little girl and the relatives leave no stone unturned in pressurizing parents to get their son or daughter married!

And yet, we continue living this ignorant lifestyle, fretting over it, but later accepting it invariably. With all due respects, just pause for a second and wonder, if your whole destiny was written out there, what charm will your life hold then? If pundits or moulavis knew so much, wouldn’t they work upon their own lives? Trying to know what’s in stock for future, and then getting miserable over it is a recipe for disaster! Instead accepting superstitions and yet living our life on our own terms is a wise well cooked dish ;) 

Be ardent believer of manglik dosh or pass it away as superstition, but follow one thing, don’t let religious orthodox principles or culturally bound rule-books ruin your life, instead let those very principles act as a solid base for your values and empower yourself to live beyond the monotonous some ‘baba-assisted’ lifestyle .

To Curb RAPE?

I happened to come across an old acquaintance in a party recently. We chatted for some time until I casually remarked about my future plans of studying in the Indian capital. She stopped short, her expressions turning somber, “Delhi is not a safe place for girls you know”, was her concerned remark. I wasn’t surprised at all, I’m used to such reactions from people. But hello! For all those who think our city (that is Indore) is a safe place….well wake up! Are you even glimpsing at the local news? MP is nonchalantly becoming a rape bomb. The past two weeks have witnessed local newspapers flashing news of repeated gang-rapes and abduction in Madhya Pradesh. Nothing new, and yet, a deeply troubling issue. Within one short week three such cases were reported; the Betma rape case of minors, the repeated gang-rape of a mute and deaf lady, abuse of a 30-year-old woman by eight rogues and today I read about two rape cases in Bhopal. Such incidents inevitably ransack a woman’s life. Phir kya Delhi aur kya MP, security of women has become a prodigious question-mark everywhere.  

A survey stated that Madhya Pradesh has 7,000 pending rape cases in court. With the lack of quick deliverance of justice, tedious court proceedings and corruption to spice it all up, we get a nice full platter of injustice to taste. And hold on, the official figure says 7,000. What the actual count is, including the unreported cases, is something our ‘culturally sound’ brains are tuned to ignore. 
Despite there being strict laws against rapists, Section 375, Section 376, etc zeroed in for sexual abuse and immediate punishment being sentenced to criminals, why are men still goaded into committing such ruthless felony? The answer may again vary from ‘lack of police security’ to ‘slow judicial proceedings’ or for that matter insensitive careless women being the ones who invite rape. But thinking of it in a broader sense, I feel there’s just one reason… the Indian law does not offer a punishment appropriate enough for such hideous crimes. The accused is sentenced to life imprisonment or in extreme cases sentenced to death, provided if, the case is speedily wrapped up. And this lackadaisical attitude has invariably led to an increase in sexual assaults.

 What India needs at this moment is a drastic decision, that of legalizing chemical castration.

Castration in simple words means sterilization. It can be treated ‘surgically’ by actually removing testes or ovaries, or can be practiced ‘chemically’ where in certain hormonal changes reduce sex-drive. Many countries have already adopted this law, specially the US states. California became the first to legalize chemical castration in 1996, followed by Florida, Poland, Georgia, Montana, Oregon, Wisconsin, Iowa, Louisiana and Texas. Agreed that there are certain legal and ethical implications of castration in India, but by far it is the most apt tool to curb rape, molestation and other related crimes. Fear of becoming impotent is a sure-shot recipe of scaring away sexual offenders. Child molesters and rapists are perceived as amongst the most vile members of society. And they deserve a rightful punishment after outraging a woman’s esteem. Castration is the answer. Plus it will drastically reduce the rate of rape cases in our country. Indian mentality is like that, a cat will hunt down rats but will instantly get scared of a lion, castration is the lion here. Molesters will definitely get afraid of losing their sexuality.

The revival of castration legislation to diminish sexually deviant behavior is likely to face several challenges. Our society took time to accept Article 377, the world took longer to believe that Earth is round, and it will surely take good long time for Indians to accept this law. But once legalized, castration will save those hundreds of thousands of women suffering from molestation every single day.