Why should boys have all the fun?

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I am sure every woman of our country has someday asked this question to her parents and many a times has had a muss in her own mind- "Why should boys have all the fun?" India has always taken pride in its culture that gives a woman the stature of a goddess, the creator of this world etc. Ironically, people of the same country have left no course of action undone in which they could disregard a woman. As girls, we’re always asked to behave in a particular manner. We’re taught from the beginning to be fragile, polite and submissive. And if ever we dare to ask ‘Why?’ a simple one liner we get is “Because you are a girl.” At times a thought pops up in my mind that ‘Is it the cost of taking birth as a girl we’re paying?’

The latest estimate suggests a new rape case is registered in India every 22 minutes. Wow! Guess what boys are having fun. While searching statistics for this article I came to know that in our country Marital Rapes that occur when spouses are living together are not considered as a criminal offence but just a domestic violence act. So, it means in our nation a man owns a woman’s body too after getting married to her. Such a woman honouring country is ours! A country where ministers pass comments such as “Boys are boys, they make mistakes” what else can we even expect. We all are aware of the Nirbhaya Gang Rape Case and its latest controversy of BBC featuring a documentary on it, my take on the issue is that the efforts Indian government was putting in to cover up the incident and preventing it from getting aired if these much efforts have been put in punishing the convicts this day won’t have arrived.

The bitter truth of our society is that always girls are expected to sacrifice. Why is “he” entitled to all the fun? Why not boys are taught their limits? Instead of telling daughter in the house to reach home by 7 in the evening, why isn’t the son given the same instructions? Why is it that always the mother has to leave her job after a child, why can’t the father do the same? When HE is made of HER, why doesn’t he learn to respect her? An even harsher fact is that a woman makes all the above sacrifices without saying a word but still doesn’t get any recognition for it, rather is taken for granted.

There’s no quick-fix to this problem but even if we start inculcating right values in our sons today we can hope for a better and safer tomorrow for our daughters. Not just the crimes need to be halted; what’s more essential is a change in the Indian men mentality. Conclusively, I would say I hope a day will come when we will not have to write such articles to fight for our rights.

#editorial