Vipanchi

These so-called 'protectors of culture' never bother, nor even notice that wearing a pant and shirt was never "our tradition". When confronted, they say, its about convenience, no question of convenience/choice to the 'other gender' though! It is time again to debate on the 'safety of women' in our society. With  # METOO campaign kicking off in India, an opportunity to revamp our workspaces and the social sphere has come. An overhaul of how we perceive gender is the need of the hour. Not so long ago, it was okay to tease someone as being a 'Gay', it was okay to gossip about the perceived gay/lesbian couple in our classrooms/ workspaces. It was okay to taunt a boy to 'wear bangles' if he is not very bold or active. A girl is called 'boyish' if she is bold. We have mastered the art of assigning gender roles. Our social spaces continuously assign, manipulate gender roles in our minds so much so that we stopped noticing someth...

Every morning as I open the newspaper there is at least an article on a girl, molested in one or the other part of India. sometimes in a city, some other in a village. Sometimes an infant, sometimes a septuagenarian. No state is an exception, some states lead anyway. Temples and schools, houses and workplaces all are same for the 2nd gender! This is a very pathetic state for us as a society. Agreement of this is unequivocal. Then, why are we as a society unable to solve the problem? This is the question I try to answer here. I will address this by dissecting the issue, part by part. Stringent punishment - a deterrent: Many people have this view,  " punish the rapist cruelly so that boys will fear to rape a girl".   Most of them rally on the streets to get this done. They are those who really empathize with the victim. But as research shows, punishment is not a deterrent to crime. However, the lack of punishment is more adverse. So the criminal justice sy...

We(common people) to be alive, have to think, to think, we need ideas, for ideas we need conversations, for conversations we need people with ideas!!! Sometimes I get no idea to think or write on. Then some people come as a blessing, they leave an idea in their conversation and that triggers my brain to think, analyze and conclude on that idea. This time it is, a boy's career is more important than a girl's career because girls anyway can get married and they have no social obligation to work. A boy's life itself becomes tough without a proper job. He can't get married or he will not have any social respect. So, boy's career is a question of survival. Analysis: The question of survival: Yes, in Indian society a boy without a reasonable job is compared to nothing.  His prospects of getting a bride are almost null. Societal respect will be a far cry. Life will be miserable for a guy without a proper job-in fact well paid or well-respected job. However, an ance...

Hi, this is me. You see me as your Mom, sister, lover and a friend. I love my parents. I have a brother. We are twins. My parents love us equally. We were sent to the same school. I was a tomboy then. Everything seemed all right for a while. My teens Physical changes did not seem too much to me but change around me made me feel that not only do they matter but they dictate my life! I was no more allowed to play with all of my friends. My mom told me to stay away from boys. In school, we were taught a class on menstrual cycle and sanitary napkins, WE here don't include boys though. I could see my mom worrying about my brown skin, she was extra cautious about my beauty. My dad was then busy planning to join me in a reputed girls' college -to take AIIMS coaching. They wanted me to become a doctor, but I somehow got into an arts college. A mockery When I was in the final year of my graduation, they said, they found me extremely beautiful and proposed a marriage with their...