Sounds of Solitude

And the child was born! A girl. Attempts were made to keep her in the well that was considered to be the "ideal" place to raise an "ideal" Indian woman/daughter. The well! It was a deep, dark well where right from a tender age, she was subjected to various degrees and types of gender discrimination; where the guardians of culture made every effort to program her mind and make her believe that "silent suffering is a matter of pride" and that being a women, it is her duty to protect the honour of her people even at the cost of her own honour and chastity! She was programmed to have no self-esteem, to believe that existence of men is a favors on her and that she is unwanted and worthless. Worst of all, the "well" forced her to be a witness of horrific crimes of violence and abuse in her formative years and then, the guardians expected her to silently accept it all as an integral part of her future; because apparently, that is what that makes a...

The verdict in the Arushi-Hemraj double murder case attracted its own share of controversies. Rajesh & Nupur Talwar were convicted primarily on the basis of the “last seen theory” and the investigating agencies say the crime was committed in a fit of rage, when the Talwar couple found their 14 year old daughter, Arushi Talwar in a compromising position with their house-help Hemraj. Although no strong evidence of this theory have been made public, as of now, let us assume that this is the truth. Under such situations, this conviction raises another set of questions on the way we raise out girls and the perception we have of their individuality. Even if Arushi, a 14 year old teenager, was found physically close to Hemraj, was “killing” her the only option? Why was it so tuff for the Talwar couple to consider the situations at hand as an act of immaturity on the part of the teenager and hence, forgive & explain her?  And a very important question: “Had the Talwar ...

Child Abuse and neglect cases are rising alarmingly and now it’s high time to give this cause its due attention. Crime against children cannot be curbed unless and until crime against women is taken along with it. Any crime against women in the household has a direct impact on her child. This post is a short summary of the long-lasting effects that a child goes through by witnessing Domestic Violence in his/her home Generally, domestic violence is considered to be a crime merely against women, but in ground reality, it is a crime against children too! The existence of domestic violence in a household, when witnessed by the children in the house, arouses some of the following feelings in their tender heart: 1. Anger: Anger at the abuser (mostly the father) for the violence, at the victim or themselves for not being able to stop the violence, and at the society for allowing it to happen.  2. Fear/Terror:  Fear that the mother or father will be seriously injured o...