essay on respect women
Answers
A very clever friend of mine coined the abbreviation “CISM” (Pronounced sih-zum). On asking what it was, she promptly said “Creepy Indian Staring Men”. I laughed, but couldn’t deny how unfortunately true it was. Every girl has been subjected to uncomfortable stares, sly videotaping and/or obnoxious words/whistles. At first, I too, chose to look the other way and pretend I didn’t notice. But why should I? What gives them the right to make me feel uncomfortable about my body or the way I choose to dress? So for a week, I chose to change MY attitude towards these unbearable CISMs.
When a ‘pedostrian’ chose to visibly stare at me as I walked by, I refused to walk to the other side of the road and shrug as though I was afraid. I walked by confidently and gave him the most judgmental, disgusted, get-over-yourself stare I could muster, coupled with the perennial classic eye roll. While I sat in a rickshaw, a man on a motorbike sneakily attempted to video tape/ photographs me. Just sitting. I don’t get why he chose to do so, but he did. In retaliation, I did the very same thing. I brought out my phone and took a video of him staring at me, making my actions very evident. Surely enough, he stopped recording and instantly looked away. Meanwhile, on the other side of my rickshaw, a rickshaw driver was staring at me, so I stared back. I stared right back at him. I found that this trick almost always worked, and they suddenly lost all their macho “mattitude” (manly attitude) and hesitantly looked away. When they didn’t and shamelessly continued to stare into my eyes like we’d probably see in every Bollywood movie known to man, I couple my responsive stare with a raised eyebrow “Kya?”(What). Unfailingly met with a “…Ha? Nahi?… Kya?– Kuch nahi.”. Mission accomplished.
Remember, we live in a country of 1.2 billion people. We couldn’t be alone even if we desperately wanted to; we’re all in this together. To all the girls out there: You don’t have to be invisible while they remain
Invincible! You are not a sentient piece of meat and you don’t deserve to be condemned while their actions are condoned.
And to all the boys out there: Anytime you feel like you’re drifting towards CISM territory, run away as fast as you can, because when the feminists succeed, and they will, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of the tracks.
Remember, treat other women the same way you would want other men to treat your mother and sister, so a woman doesn’t feel the need to rush home every day and thank one of 300 million gods that she wasn’t sexually harassed or mentally undressed.
From hormonal changes to giving birth to a child, the life of a woman has a lot of struggles. Perhaps God gave the responsibility to give birth to a child to women because they are more brave and responsible than men would ever be. Yet, they don’t get the respect they so much deserve.I believe that a society where its women do not feel secure and respected is not worth calling a society. Crimes like rape, domestic violence and trafficking have increased over time and the word respect is ebbing. Trafficking of women has raised a big concern and has destroyed many lives. I live in a country where, according to statistical data, a rape happens every 20 minutes. Men have misused their dominance and power and responsibility has not been taken.But what makes these men act like this? What makes them think that they have the right to do the evil things to women? Well, I think it is their perception that makes them commit these heinous crimes. They tend to look at things in every negative manner possible and because of their way of thinking and perception, they haunt the women around them and pierce their lives with fear. I believe that it all depends on perception. First we build our perception and then our perception builds us. The kind of perception we create in our minds, the same kind of person we end up being.I believe that if wrong perception is the disease, then building the right perception is the cure. Different creative ways should be applied to spread awareness on this sensitive issue and teach the male population to respect women.
Documentaries should be made regarding this issue. Documentaries should show the mindset of women before and after the crime and how haunting it is for them to face such a wicked experience. Also, these documentaries should show celebrities who are followed world-wide, with moral messages about women and the respect they deserve.Boys from an early age should be taught the importance of respecting the opposite gender. The documentaries should be shown to them in school so that they learn about the issue and gain moral values from an early age. Creatively, these documentaries should be animated and should include the most lovable cartoon characters together with message on the issue.
Many campaigns have been started by women for women. However, I truly believe that men should initiate campaigns for ensuring that they play their role in the society and make every woman they know feel respected and cared.Everyone should know that if it wasn’t for women, then we all would have never been born.A woman sacrifices a lot of things in her life. Yet, somehow she finds happiness in those things. I hope we, as men, find happiness in giving women the love and respect they deserve.