Out of the frying pan, into the fire!

We have all seen balika vadhu and cried/laughed with Aanandi, the protagonist. While the producers wanted to create an awareness about ill effects of child marriage, Indian villages where child marriage custom is still prevalent were busy making note of the jewellery designs, saree colors for their own young gonna-be-brides. The shock waves hit me when I read the news about a politician supporting khap panchayat statement on the solution for pervasive rapes!!

I digress.

Khap panchayat is the village administrative and judicial body in most parts of north western India. Such panchayats are at their operative best in states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Even though there is an unequivocal acceptance of the need for older Indian tradition retainment, these khap panchayats are not all glittery golden social service ones. They are day by day proving to be superstition harbours and archaic social law protectors.

Source: http://cartoonistsatish.blogspot.in/

I felt like being slapped by a red hot iron hand when I read that a Khap Panchayat from Haryana held child marriage as the solution to avoid rapes. I agree that Haryana is facing a dearth of humanity; what with 14 rapes in a month! But encouraging a less traumatic social problem to ward off another grave social problem is in no way a civilised effort. Add to the flavour - a politician from Haryana Om Prakash Chautala extended his complete support to the panchayat's views.

The problems haunting women have no regard to place, caste or status. While downtrodden dalits are ruthlessly raped in Haryana, educated I.T women professionals are victims to lustful men in Gurgaon and Delhi. While Indian government is begging girls to attend schools, a teenage girl is shot in Taliban for promoting women education. The whole world is striving to uplift the status of women and it is duty of every person as a citizen of the world to provide women their rightful education and safety. 

How wise is this Khap panchayat's judgement of bouncing girls from one social evil to another?  If the powerful learned men of our villages and cities put the blame of rapes on marital status of a girl, should all unmarried girls feel like prostitutes? Is being single an invitation to rape? Is marriage a solution to the lust of freely roaming animals? Just because a kid has all organs to be qualified as a girl should she be traded off in child marriage? Pardon my solutions for the lack of originality. Rapes can be avoided if 

• boys are taught to respect women
• girls are stopped being projected as objects of pleasure
• masculinity lies in protecting the weaker sections and not in exploiting them 
• femininity lies in being confident about one's own body and not taking the blame

While administrators in other parts of the world are foraying into important issues such as women empowerment, improved work conditions for women, egalitarian socio economic environment Indian politicians should not be enthusiastic about pushing back India into old superstitions. When Indian men and also women stand firm in supporting their daughters' freedom what come may, only then can we hope for some progress otherwise deteriorate in the lack of it!!

http://blog.blogadda.com/2012/10/13/blogging-community-top-reads-indian-bloggers