THINKING OF IT

THINKING OF IT …..

Rashmi Luktuke - Is an ex-principal from Mumbai, with a plethora of experience and knowledge. An ideal mother and proud grandmother, who is at the verge of realizing her dream of spurring up a beautiful butterfly garden.Listen to her  as she speaks her heart out---

 

It pains me and saddens my heart when I read about such incidences like rape and assault.  There were times when rape and sex were dictionary words, and then too not for children and teenagers. But now a days, every alternate day, we see or read about ghastly incidences related to them. (Thanks to multimedia for the details!!!! )

As a mother I am frightened. As a parent I am at a loss as to how to protect my little one. What do I do? Lock my daughter? Curtail her activities? No Way!      

We should seek other solutions.

We should be free with our children. Talk to them on subjects apart from studies or scoldings. We should be able to communicate with them at their level. Much more attention should be paid to phrases like……” I don’t like him or her at all” “He is not nice….”  Or “he or she is too nice… ”

We should insist that children should not accept gifts eatables without informing us and without our permission.

As they grow we should tell them about their body parts. Teenagers should be given sex education. No awkwardness here or else an expert’s help should be taken.

We should encourage them to learn self defense.

This is about personal or individual level.

On the social level we can do the following.

The schools should take up take sex education more seriously.

Community awareness and action programs should be organized.

Authorities should instill fear of punishment.

We should forget our differences, caste, creed, religions or whatever and join hands in dealing with such incidences. We as citizens should commit to the cause and have to be more vigilant.

But insulating ourselves and our kids is not sufficient. It may not always keep us safe.

On a broader perspective I think a close knit bond amongst family members, relatives, friends and society is a must. Nowadays it is missing. Our social network has huge empty holes in it. We are a faceless society of faceless individuals. If there is a sense of belonging to a community and society then the individual will think 100 times before doing anything that will lower his esteem in the eyes of his beloved ones and the society. Let us work together to create a cohesive healthy society for our children’s sake at least.

SUCHETA MISHRA SWAIN- AN EX-PROFESSOR GIVES CERTAIN COMPELLING VIEWS:
 

The issue of rape is too complicated to be handled easily and closely linked to feminist issues. It has to do with the mindset of all--sexual stereotyping begins very early in life, in the home where parents treat children unequally, and of course through outside influences, most notorious being the media which objectifies women. So lasting change can come only if education reaches here!! The media has a huge role to play! But despite everything, criminals will be there in society. So a strict law and fast-track execution of the law has to be there. Additionally, defenseless children and young girls should be trained in ways to protect themselves everywhere!!