India More Concerned With Honor Of Dead Women Rather Than The Living Ones

No matter how much ever we hail the rise of feminism in India, it will still remain a majorly patriarchial society. And no matter how much ever we try to live in the present, there would be people still singing the glories of the past (without any positive contribution to the society on their end in the present time).

The delay in the release of Padmavati may have ultimately happened due to minor technicalities, but the unprecedented rage against the movie cannot be denied.

Rage to protect the honor of a woman who lived centuries ago.

Rage to protect the honor of a woman who may be completely fictitious.

Rage against a story no one has heard yet.

This typically herd mentality is alas lost when it comes to the protection of the women living in the Indian society today.

The stories of abuse of women, rapes and murders have become so commonplace that we do not even bother to keep track of what is happening anymore. We read about it, take a deep breath, thank our stars that it was not us and move on.

But some stories still shake us to the core.

One such story has risen from a place near Bengaluru, where a 25-year-old man has been arrested for having raped a woman who was then a minor, 5 years ago.

He had laced the woman’s drink with sedatives, raped and filmed her. When the girl had approached her parents, she was told to keep quiet about it and was then later married off.

The rapist, however, then managed to get hold of this girls husband’s mobile number and sent him the video clip, which has now resulted in the divorce of the woman.

The woman finally raised her voice when the rapist continued to blackmail her over the video.

I know that many reading about this case would raise questions about the character of the woman or the possibility of the rapist being an ex-boyfriend.

But does that justify this action?

No. Absolutely not.

The attitude of the parents to keep things under wraps, the ultimate loss of position of the woman and the audacity of the rapist to first approach the woman’s husband and then continue to blackmail the woman shows how depraved the society is actually becoming.

And why does the society at large remain silent in such cases? Why is there no bounty on the head of the rapist?

Which culture will India choose to preserve? Protecting the honor of the centuries-old princesses or the honor of the daughters of India?