As a woman in India, I want to take my personal freedom for granted. Same as men. I am not asking for favours or demanding any concessions from society. All I am saying is, "Leave me alone to decide what is good for me." I don't want to be patronised or talked down to by a bunch of men, or even one man. Anybody, for that matter, even another woman. I hate the arrogance implicit in that. Why should any person believe he or she knows what is in my interests and in the larger interests of society? As an educated, urban adult, I am my own sole responsibility. I am looking for neither protection nor patronage. If I do make mistakes, they are my own, and the responsibility for the same rests with me.
Women remain India's most vulnerable minority. If we allow our agenda to be hijacked by mean-spirited, narrow-minded bigots, we have had it. Not only have we had it, but our daughters and their daughters have had it, too. We are obliged to speak up; no, shout out our objections, here and now, and make sure we are heard.
The only way forward is to form pressure groups and prosecute men like the Mangalore Molesters and the Bengaluru Beasties. For that to happen, we need sufficient numbers to participate in satyagrahas across India. Civil Disobedience brought down an empire not so long ago. These bullies are a piece of toast. Let us make them history.
http://week.manoramaonline.com/
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