India Hates Women

March 2015. Almost two and a half years after the gruesome, inhuman, cowardly and cringe worthy act of sexual harassment, we're debating whether or not it was her fault.

REALLY? We're even considering the possibility of it being her fault here?
Because she wanted to catch a late night show. So WHAT? They have late night shows so we can watch movies at our convenience. Did the theater in any way say that the show was exclusively for men? 

Or was it because she was accompanied by her male friend? Oh sure, that could be a reason. Step out with your boyfriend on Valentine's day and get married. Step out with a friend at night and get raped.

My hands shiver and my heartbeat multiplies ten folds as I follow the Nirbhaya case. 

A girl was raped. Brutally. Her friend was assaulted. The accused is right there, in front of us. What are we doing about it? Defending him.
I understand that the Constitution allows everybody a fair trial. But if an advocate makes statements like "If you keep sweets on the street, dogs are going to eat it", we should stop dreaming of a developed nation. 

What are you going to do with stark infrastructure and glossy machines if the morality of the nation is rotting away to hell?

Every time I step out, my parents have half their heart sinking till the minute I get back home.
They call me every half an hour to 'chat'. Who are we kidding? In real, blunt words, they're calling to check if I'm still alive and okay. 

Sending their daughters to colleges and work places has become a nightmare for parents in this day.

A woman is looked at as an object, as a thing, something to sneer at and whistle at. Just something to look at. Or touch, occasionally. Or maybe rape or kill if they feel like it. It's a free country after all and we're just women.

Thank you, dear Indian men, for making me feel unsafe in my own country. Thank you for reminding me that humanity is a lost cause in this pathetic excuse for a country.

The very fact that people aren't hesitant about making strong statements like "Rape is a girl's fault." "Men will be men, mistakes happen." or "Women are asking for it if they step out late or wear suggestive clothes" is proof that the country has no hope, no room left for women anymore.

Doesn't matter if I'm wearing a saree or a crop top, I'm not asking for it. Unless you see me carrying a placard around my neck saying "GIVE IT TO ME", I'm not asking for it. Stop looking for signs and symbols. If I don't personally walk up to you and ask you for it, I'm not asking for it.

The fact that the Nirbhaya case went on for anything more than a week scares me. It genuinely scares me. They had the proof, evidence, victim, accused and the case. And yet, yet it has been more than two years today and God knows how many more till they reach a conclusion.

I have a sister, I have friends, little cousins, classmates and a mother and aunts. Every morning, I pray for the safety of everyone out there. Everyone I know, love, care for and everyone I don't know but care about. The rate at which the accused are walking off scott free is alarming.

I see the fear, the worry and the borderline terror in my parents' eyes every time I step out of the house. I see women around me being wary of the kindest of men because, you never know.

India scares me. The men scare me. The reality and blatant lack of morality of Indians scares me.

Right from killing the girl child to raping the girl child, it's evident that India hates women. There is no place for us lowly creatures in this supposed holy motherland unless it is at the other end of a killing knife or their sexual urges.

I can already see my parents breaking out into a cold sweat at my expression of thoughts, because although the Constitution states it, we don't allow freedom of speech and to top it all, I'm a woman. Easily targeted, conveniently muffled and perpetually subdued. I'm a woman. Visually raped every day, dying inside every alternate minute, looked down upon, shunned by the society and yet somehow standing strong. But I'm a woman. And India hates women.