I found the recent edition of Aamir Khan’s ‘Satyamev Jayate’ rather insipid than inspiring. The sob stories of women who had been subjected to ‘domestic violence’ actually were more irritating than moving. Do they have to wait for the breaking point to teach a lesson to the aggressive husbands? In the stories too, only the last not so educated lady returned a slap to her husband before walking out.
All these make me wonder what sort of society we still continue to live in and how these ‘educated, enlightened’ women subject themselves to such harassment.
Can all the blame be based on men for these activities?
If one thinks logically, it is not just because of men; in most cases it is because of another woman either in the form of mother-in-law or a second woman. Why Aamir Khan has not brought these in his discussion? Most of the television serials depict the mothers-in-law in the worst light ever possible whose innovative torturing techniques put the entire womanhood of India to shame. Accidentally, I came across a scene where a mom-in-law asking the ‘bahu’ to eat a plate full of ‘mirchi’ with a cruel smile on her face. I read in one of the newspapers that in another Telugu serial a step mother or someone apply chill powder on the head and body of a blind girl. In a long running Tamil serial a woman is capable of doing any crime from blackmail, murder, hiring woman hooligans to kidnapping a child.
Why none of the women organizations come forward and hoist their protests against such depictions? In fact, these serials provide more innovative techniques to the public for torturing the helpless women.
Further, notwithstanding the many achievements of woman on par with men in all fields, we prefer to project woman always as a harmless, helpless damsel in distress. Why? Once, such ill treatments were abundant and many hapless women have to succumb to such atrocities because mainly of their financial dependence on men; be it her father, brother, husband or anyone. But, today the situations are not so. In today’s circumstances if women still allow them to be treated like dirt it is not because of the society. It is nothing but because of their cowardice and mindset.
Aamir Khan can choose better topics for discussion than bringing these century old issues which had not been and will never be cured by any discussion especially in India.
