Ring the Bell - When Men and Women voice their opinion and fight together for a cause

Violence against women hasn’t decreased with time, education or the so-called modernization. It’s happening all around us and we choose to turn a blind eye. You may or may not be affected by it. But being a silent bystander and not doing anything about it doesn’t guarantee a better life either.

When I hear stories or read about incidents related to abuse of any kind, I get all jittery. How can we behave like wild animals when our race was chosen to be sensible and loving? Partners, children, parents, fellow human beings... they are all meant to be loved and not abused.

This fight ...this is definitely not gender based. The same men who beat their wives are capable of molesting young boys as well. Who will protect them? The women who tolerate this abuse set wrong example for their daughters. By keeping quiet, we are encouraging the perpetrators.

Caring deeply about the subject doesn’t solve anything as well. We have to stand up and clear the air around us. We have to encourage men in our lives to take part in the movement. We have to encourage fathers to teach their sons. We need to tell friends not to laugh at abusive jokes and tell people around us that it’s NOT acceptable to joke about rape and abuse. When a man talks about his strengths with respect to women around him, we really don’t have to make a big deal about it. Sex needs to be treated as an act of love and not an achievement. I can go on and on...

Education helps. Blame game doesn’t. When a woman is abused we shift our focus from the root cause to what she was wearing, where she was, etc. People who try to protect her are called names like male bashers, man haters, extremists. These are all excuses and attempts to ignore the problem.

We all need to be involved equally – men, women and children. While children can be taught how to respect both genders, they cannot be given the sole responsibility of building a brighter future. What about now? How can we improve the situation now? Leaders, decision makers, powerful people... they can influence you and me. That leader can be the bread-winners of the family or the President of the country – powerful people can bring the weak down. The abusers need to be told by leaders that they are not welcome. When they lose their standing in the society, only then their race will see a downfall.

We need to have men and women who have the guts to speak against this; who have guts to speak against their family, friends, relatives or neighbours who are abusive in any way. We really need to talk about this more and voice our opinions in a constructive manner. Speaking up can help in a big way. 

We don’t only owe it to women, but to our sons and daughters as well. Let us not make this a gender issue or a fight by-women-for-women movement. We need to fight against it together to protect the world from abuse; to give women, girls and young boys that one basic right to love and be loved; to survive like a human being and not like an untamed animal.

This post is part of Ring the Bell initiative by Breakthrough. Entries are displayed on IndiBlogger.