Saturday, April 16, 2011

Don’t be a Woman in India


In January reports poured in from Hyderabad stating that uteruses had been removed from the body of many women under the age of 30 in the name of the Arogyashri Scheme. These hysterectomy operations have deprived these women of chances to bear children. The government prescribed that uterus could be removed in case of women aged 30- under the scheme only if they suffered from multiple fibroids, carcinoma in situ, carcinoma cervix stage I and II, ovarian carcinoma. Alas! The poor women from the villages have been lured into agreeing to get their uteruses removed in the guise of instilling the fear that they will die if uteruses were not removed. Doctors who did this heinous crime had only pecuniary benefits in mind.

Less than 3 months later, doctors in Dausa, Rajasthan, repeated the act. This time around the scheme is named Janani Suraksha Yojana and aims to help the expectant mothers. 226 women were duped in the pretext of curing non-existent diseases. No one takes notice unless somebody breaks the news in Media. This is the worst kind of corruption that can happen. A woman unable to bear a child will always struggle to come to terms with her existence. More so in utilitarian India. A woman is just another piece of utility for child-bearing, physical pleasures and performing a host of menial duties. Everybody tries to take advantage of these poor creatures. Doctors have shown they are not far behind and they have a much neater way to escape the hands of the law.

A young athlete gets thrown off the train in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. You may say the intention behind the attack on Arunima Sinha was robbery and any male could also have suffered the same fate. But, being a woman she was a very soft target with hardly any physical resistance and support from the onlookers. She may get a Jaipur Foot and Railways may have offered her a job. But will there be any other such hue and cry for a normal woman thrown off the train or abused and humiliated in any other way in any part of the country? Stats reveal that the answer is a big NO. We will continue to display some bland emotions once the incident gets reported in the media or reaches our ears/eyes through some other means. We will think strongly about it and that will be the end of it all.

Places rife with communal or sectarian conflicts are the safest haven for the crimes against women. Jammu & Kashmir is a prime example. The murder of 40 year-old Hasina Begum, a Panchayat election candidate in the Badgam district, by the Ultras suggests that women are supposed to stay in subservience of men and the moment they try and break-free from the shackles, they should be punished, often the corporal punishment.

Mumbai saw the suicide of a teenager arising out of her conscience not feeling good after she was raped by her father’s ex-employer for over a week in order to revenge the father’s escape from the debt trap set by the ex-employer. Any body does anything and the grouse is borne by the women belonging to either sides. This happens day in and day out all over India.

Women in our society will have to wait till eternity to get the respect they deserve. The only women we care as individuals are those who are in direct and indirect relation to us. Others are Social and Governmental responsibilities. My apologies and big shame-laden head bow to all the women in India. Some day you may feel owned and secure.

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