How would a life be with full freedom? Freedom to choose, freedom to laugh, freedom to eat, freedom to sing, freedom to dance… How would it be if no one judged others on the basis of what they did? What if no girl had the pressure of dieting so that they are selected by the groom party? They did dieting solely because they had the freedom to choose to be thin or fat.
What if girls had the freedom to choose what they wear without anyone commenting on their clothes and judging them on the basis of their apparel? Who gives us or anyone the right to judge people on how they conduct themselves? Who gives them the right to judge us on what we wear? Who gives them the right to judge our relationships and our behavior?? How can someone who is not so much of an acquaintance assume things about the other??? How can clothes be called vulgar?? Vulgarity lies in the person… Vulgarity lies in the eyes of the person… Vulgar are the people who have thoughts of malicious intentions… Clothes? Clothes are just clothes… Some simple, some fashionable… They cannot be judged nor can be the person wearing it. Vulgar are the people who judge them.
I often wonder… What is life outside India? Do Indians living in foreign countries also think like this?? Do they also force their brides to lose fat before accepting them? Do they also refuse them from wearing what they want rather than offering their advices?? Advices and opinions are always welcome but who gives them the right to force them to wear something they do not want to???
They say beauty lies in the eye of the beholder… I say vulgarity lies in the eyes of the beholder… Rapists rape small girls and aged ladies… Do they also wear VULGAR clothes? Rapists are vulgar because they see vulgarity. Girls who wear torn, stylish and fashionable clothes are not vulgar and neither are their clothes. They choose to wear them. They have the freedom to choose. But yes, people here can judge because they have got the freedom to judge.
What stops me from getting out at 10 pm in the night alone? Some random stalkers with malicious intentions? Or My protective family with fear of society? I would say both. Rape is a big crime but often instead of the criminal, the sufferer is punished. Why stop girls from going out? Why stop them from wearing what they want?? Stop the boys from going out. Stop them from seeing us with malice and vulgarity. Stop them from being disrespectful. Teach them to behave before they step out of the house. And if they can’t, punish them… Punish them for their thoughts are vulgar… Vulgarity is a sin but punish the one who is vulgar… Not the innocent.
They say a change is coming… When will this age old custom of punishing the suffering party end? When will girls feel free to go anywhere in any way they want? When will their parents not stay awake until they come home safety? When will this fear end? This so called drama of protecting the girl unless she is married and then again protecting her even after marriage… We do not need you to protect us by forcing us to do what you feel is right for us. We need you to understand and stay by us and our choices and protect our rights even when we suffer. I don’t see any change coming in this regard. I don’t see equality. I don’t see justice. When will the light shine? Or will it ever??
