SPEECH

From cooking in the kitchen to governing the country, from playing dolls to the playing at international tournaments, women have marked their role in every aspect of our society. Women play a major role in our lives. Harassment faced by women is no joke. These days, no matter which place it is, be it house, jobs, places and even temples, girls are afraid to go out. It is a real nightmare for a woman to be harassed in their own house. If women don’t have safety in their own houses, then where do they go?

This is the most important question our society has to ask. Women constitute 50% of the population today, but will it be the same in the next 20 years? We don’t know if you can increase the proportion of female population, but let’s not decrease it. Women are not some dolls to play with. They are humans after all. For instance, Delhi, the India’s capital, is considered to be unsafe for women. Most of the sexual abuses are found in the India’s capital. Women are facing abuse because they cannot protect themselves. Or is it the case that the accused is stronger? In my opinion, our society has been structured like that—to give the man an upper hand.

Apart from the so-called violence outside, women do face abuse in their home. When the woman is responsible for the household chores, why is she not responsible for her own life? Why can’t women make their own rules? In her childhood, a woman has to depend upon her father; in adulthood, on her brother; after marriage, on her husband; and later on her son; and so on. This is what the world thinks. Thinking and treating women as slaves to other men is the biggest abuse of all.

Today, in this fast-paced modern times, money is everything. Without money we cannot afford anything. One needs to be employed to make money. But, women are afraid to go out and work. Some of the places in India are so depressing that women sell themselves to make money. There are job opportunities for all, but are the situations safe? If a woman can give birth to a whole new family, working is not a big deal for her. But the dark shadows of fear, judgment, abuse, sexual violence are preventing her from expressing her full potential.

The ultimate solution for all these issues is to change the ideology of society. To change the society, it has to begin with us. For instance, providing technical means maintain the safety of women, like Disha app introduced by the AP government. Teaching the younger generation the basic idea of not hurting others and owing some respect towards women would add up to a brighter future. Teaching women self-defence and making them stronger mentally and physically and biggest of all, educating our boys to not think that a woman is weaker, can be some measures to prevent violence against women. For the changes to happen, we have to change the way we think and the change has to begin with us.

Be the change, stop violence against women and let us make the world a better place to live. Jai Hind.

by

Aasritha Atluri

Class X

Written in October 2023