Punish. Right about NOW.

I write this with a heavy heart. It's two days since the girl, victim of the brutal Delhi gang rape died and I'm not completely over it. I am sad that she had to die before she could see something happen to the men who killed her. What saddens me more is that two days after her death, nothing has still been done to them.

I feel helpless at this point because I'm not in a position of authority to do something about the situation. News channels can have numerous debates about the issue, we can continue to protest peacefully, but none of it has really helped yet. Something really extreme needs to be done to the six men who raped and murdered the young girl right about now. This is the only immediate solution to the problem. We the people, the government, etc. etc. can then sit down and make the relevant laws to tackle such a situation that could, God forbid, arise in the future. But for right now, precisely right now, what India and the rest of the world wants is to see the men being punished.

This is the only thing that is going to make us feel secure. This is the only thing that is going to make us women feel like we live in a safe country. This is the only thing that is going to stop more shameless men who are out there, some of whom have the audacity at this sensitive moment, to still rape women and still molest women in buses, to stop. We cannot wait any longer. Right now is the time.   

Delhi was always known to be unsafe for women but thanks to this incident I can only imagine how much harder it's going to be for young girls and women to live life on their own terms from now on. I was in Delhi on holiday during the week this rape happened. My poor NRI parents had sleepless nights till I was back in Mumbai. I cannot imagine then what it must be like for all the girls and women who actually live there. I saw in one of the discussions on a news channel how people were suggesting to employ women guards in buses, trains, outside girls hostels and other such places on a 24*7 basis. While I agree that this could be a step in the right direction I cannot overlook the fact that this could mean the end of good days for the female race in India.

Why must we be curbed from going out and having a good life just because men think they have the right to rape us and get away with it? We must be allowed to live our lives just like men are allowed to live theirs. And for this, since clearly a lot of men out there are chauvinists and do not have a  conscience, we need to see the men of the above mentioned case, that the whole country has taken personally, being punished severely. I suggest chemical castration followed by hanging them. While we will as women do everything we can on our parts to change mind sets of all the men and women we personally know in our lives, we need this to be done to the above murderers so that we have an example of such a case to reassure us.

We need this so that as parents and families impose more and more restrictions on our lives with unreasonable curfews and curb our independence, we can look at them and reassure them that such things will not happen anymore thanks to how the accused of the Delhi gang rape were dealt with. We need this so that we can roam the streets if we wish to with absolute confidence irrespective of what time it is. We need this so that the next time we're in a situation where we feel a man is misbehaving with us, we can remind him of what happened to the men of the Delhi gang rape case. All we are desperately yearning for is an example to reassure us of our right to live a normal life.

While we rant on and on about changing mind sets, what is the solution to deal with men whose mind sets cannot be changed and are out there living as a threat? God knows what made such men this way, their socialization, childhood traumatic experiences, or whatever it may be, I feel horrible for their families. But the fact is that there is definitely a whole lot of them whose minds cannot be changed. Such minds need to be instilled with fear. The thought of their bodies being castrated and then being  made to die a slow, painful death should haunt them every time they even dare to look at the opposite sex with disrespect.   

Doing my little part. Or not.

It was one of those days when the maid didn't come for two days in a row. The result - an overflowing sink and not even a single clean plate to have food on. I was tired after work and yelled at my brothers for not having cleaned the vessels at least today and in walked my cook. Before you write me off as a rich bitch with numerous maids and cooks at her service, let me tell you that in Bombay you don't get one woman to do all the jobs even if you want to pay her more. A cook doesn't clean and a maid doesn't cook.

One brother decided to help me out with the dishes. This was unacceptable to my cook. Seeing my brother doing the dishes she called me aside and told how what I was committing was a serious offense and how from where she comes from, men are never allowed to do the chores. She advised me that my brother is older to me and it was disrespectful on my part to tell him to do the dishes. I of course told her she wasn't living in the real world if that's what she still thinks. I told her that both me and my brother are people and whoever is free and able to do a chore does it irrespective of our gender. I told her to practice the same at her home. She stared at me like I had fired her from her job.

On another day my cook was telling me that she didn't make it to work the previous day because her daughter had come of age and hence she had to be around for her. She went on to tell me that she had to be around to ensure that her daughter didn't touch anybody or anything, and that no body touched her either as that's how a girl is to be treated during the days she has her period. Apparently, her daughter was given a corner to sit in and was not allowed to do anything religious. The opinionated person that I am I told her that her belief was baseless. I reasoned with her saying if God only gave us women a menstrual cycle, why would he consider us dirty during this time? She fiercely answered saying it was all in their books. I told her that her daughter lives in a world where women do not stop themselves from doing anything for any reason whatsoever. She just looked at me, unable to believe my ignorance.  

Whenever my cook sees that I'm free she loves to come up and chat with me. These are just two instances of interesting conversations I've had with her. Although most times I get irritated with how much she has to talk all the time, I also realized that she is my reminder of the dichotomous society I live in. Just when I think people's outlooks have changed and that we live in a world where we are free to express and practice our own rights and ways, sense or nonsense, I'm reminded that there is this group of people who still live unrealistic and senseless lives.

But then I also think to myself, little am I able to change the mindsets of the so called modern parent of today who thinks it's wrong if their child has an inter-religious relationship, how then can I change the mindsets of the not so modern? We have such a long way to go.