And then there were none…

My country has been witnessing nationwide protests seeking amendments to the archaic laws dealing with rape, sexual harassment and other heinous crimes. I just wanted to vent my angst and my sense of insecurity at the way we are moving forward as a community,through this blog. This post is by no means a sexist one blaming the men for all the woes the women folks face. Nor is this a preachy one filled with moral policing. I just came across a brilliantly written article on the topic and I thought it apt to share it here to dispel some myths about the victims of rape and also throw in a few words about its perpetrators.

For those who are interested in reading the article, below is the link it.

“I Fought For My Life…And Won” – Sohaila Abdulali #mustread #Vaw #Rape

I’ve seen a lot of my male friends squirm when subject to whistles and hoots by the female  folks even when done in jest. It makes them go all ruddy in the face. Many men are uncomfortable when a reference is made to a penis or crotch. They will never look you in the eye while having a conversation involving the above. Lots of them avoid going to places flocked by the fairer sex because they feel singled out there.

Women , the world over, are subject to such incidents almost everyday, both by people known to them and by those they don’t know. So many of them face brutality of at the hands of their perpetrators.Spare them a thought. Sensitize yourself, your folks, your friends, your kids, people around you to respect another individual irrespective of his or her gender. It is shameful that an individual had to face a brutal act of such magnitude for a lot of us to take notice of the prevalence and the pervasiveness of rape/sexual harassment .Let us not lose another life to this battle. Otherwise, soon there will be none…

In-NO-cence

The other day I was asked to baby sit my niece. Physically drained, mentally exhausted, all I really wanted to do was to stretch my legs and sip on a mug of piping hot tea while watching my niece go about her business.

Like any six year old, I assumed that my niece would love to get her hands dirty and unleash her creativity on paper and so I asked her to paint something she loved. Leaving her to her thoughts, I went in to make myself some tea. To say that I was left dumbfounded when i returned, would be to put it mildly. There,nicely perched on a couch, was my Smart Alec, painting on Microsoft Paint!!

My thoughts were in a disarray and I was almost about to drop my mug. Do kids today really equate painting with MS Paint? I felt like an imbecile. If i were asked about a decade ago, to paint, I would have promptly rushed to my room to pick up a brush and some colors.

I have to admit that the kids today are far more well turned out than my generation could ever be . My niece for instance, is my sounding board.From my crushes to my professional woes, from my weight issues to my bad hair days, she’s incredibly pragmatic when shooting advises. In comparison, I look like a retard who just happened to age physically.

While the wonderment is all there, I do think to myself, at times, if the kids are better off being blissfully ignorant about life and it’s ways for a wee bit longer. Have we traded their innocence for precociousness?