Tag: equality

Women are no agony aunts!

February 11, 2020.

Girls studying at Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Verma Kutch University based in Gujarat, India were put to a rude shock.

They were taken to the washroom by staff and forced to remove their undergarments to prove they were not menstruating.

What’s the crime? They were seen sitting in the canteen, chatting and eating food.

The university, as the news said, has put in place a strict rule that menstruating girls should not enter the cafeteria or the canteen to eat food. They should desist from joining others.

No sooner had this trauma for girls at the university ended than the guru, Mr. Krushnaswarup Dasji attached to Nar-Narayan Devgadi of Swami Narayan Sect said menstruating women in India should not enter the kitchen and cook food.

The reason, as he quoted from ancient Shastras, was that menstruation is a penance decreed by god. If they continue to cook food while menstruating, they will be cursed to be born as dogs in their next life.

The guru didn’t stop with just that.

If their husbands choose to eat the food, they will be reborn as bullocks, he said.

The nation was shocked. Many were outraged. Women in India have protested. 

The law quickly swung into action. 

The police arrested the principal, the hostel rector and the peon of Shree Sahajanand Girls Institute (SSGI) for the shameful incident of stripping the girls.

8th of March today is the world’s women’s day and let’s wish women a happy, free and a fulfilled life.

While doing so, let me share a snippet of a story that appeared in the Washington Post about two years ago. Penned by the author Amruta Byarnal, the story talked about how a handful of women in Delhi reacted to Guru Dasji’s disparaging statement.

The story said menstruating women gathered and conducted a ‘Period Feast’. Women were called, asked to cook food and serve the guests.

Many, including men, attended the feast. The event was huge and people partied. Women wore T-shirts that boldly said they were menstruating.

Banners and balloons carried messages that said menstruation was natural, and the biological process was nothing demeaning of women.

“We felt it was important to respond to damaging statements about women because we didn’t want to give substance to myths and taboos any further,” said Rikita Narula of NGO Sachhi Saheli, which funded the feast.

The government data says there are 355 million menstruating women and girls in India, and only 42 percent have access to sanitary napkins.

According to a 2014 USAID-backed report, nearly 23 million girls drop out of school annually due to lack of proper menstrual hygiene management facilities.

Men like Guru Dasji have only helped damage the cause of women in India and the patriarchy is sadly the main villain.

Events like ‘Period Feast’ send a strong message to the world that women are born equal.

Women are as independent, career-building, equal and free as men. Periods for women should never be an impediment to their progress in society. 

Chitransh Saxena, a male guest at the event, was all in praise of the women gathered. He called for putting an end to old customs surrounding women’s hygiene.
He said he was there to support the women’s cause. 

Mr. Saxena, the founder of Pad Bank (a Delhi-based NGO) emphasised upon educating boys about women’s menstrual health.

On this day, let’s take a pledge, join hands with people who work for the cause of women round the world and work toward creating a society that’s all embracing and equal.

Spanish Travel Couple, Assaulted and the Woman Gang-raped in India.

Is India a safe place for women travelers?

“Spanish Travel Vloggers Assaulted, Gang Raped In India During Motorcycle Tour Of Globe” – screamed the headline on therepublica.com

Vincente and Fernanda, a Spanish couple, were on a “Vuelta Al Mundo En Moto (Around The World By Motorbike)” tour when they reported they had been assaulted by a gang of robbers and rapists in India on 1st March 2024.

The Vloggers have traveled to over 60 countries, starting from Barcelona 5 years ago. They had biked about 170,000 kilometers so far and were on their way to Nepal via India’s Jharkhand state when this sad, abominable incident happened. 

The couple is well known and have gathered 122,000 followers on Instagram documenting their journey, meals, and experiences as they trek across continents.

They reported the incident to police immediately and the couple have released a video narrating the ordeal. The video is now viral on social media. 

The police have nabbed three men who committed the crime and are on the lookout for four more. 

But the chair of NCW (National Commission for Women), the statutory body in India established for the purpose of helping women, protecting them and promoting women’s rights and interests, has tweeted that people shouldn’t report crimes on social media, and they should go to police. She said this almost a day after the couple had approached police.

Such is the ignorance of people sitting in top positions in India. 

“Rape is the most common crime against women in India”, says the front page on Wikipedia.

The portal says further that about 32,000 cases of rape were registered according to the 2021 annual report by NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau). That’s about 85 rape cases averaging a day.

Isn’t that a big shame for the nation of 1.43 billion? And the worse is, the cases, according to the NCRB report, are rising each year.

A quick search on Google throws up how an (anonymous) mom lists out safeguards for women when they tour India.

She says (among various other safeguards) that women should avoid dressing up provocatively. How sad!

How weak men in India are! The mom believes women’s dress in India attracts unsolicited attention from men. 

But treating women in India with respect goes back to ancient times.

The Vedic period (1500 – 500 BCE) says women were treated equally by men in all aspects of life.

Vedic scholars such as Patanjali and Katyayana have written that women were educated and there are verses in Rigveda which suggest that women were married at a mature age.

They were free to choose who to marry and who to live with.

Swayamvar and Gandharva marriage practices were clear examples of how women enjoyed freedom in those days.

What’s gone wrong now? What’s the remedy?

• Teach the next generation about gender, respect and human rights. Simple.

• Tell children that it is OK to be different.

• Encourage a culture of acceptance.

• Talk about consent, bodily autonomy, and accountability in an age-appropriate way for boys and girls.

• Discuss the importance of choices and how to take responsibility for one’s actions.

• Listen to children.

• Empowering the young with information and educating them about women’s rights, we can build a better future for all.

Let’s make the world a better and safer place for women. For women in India and for those who choose to come to India on tours.