Sweven

For the past few days, I’ve been in a constant state of unease. I can’t sleep, eat, or go about my day without thinking of the young woman on the night of the tragedy. There are so many emotions I feel whenever I think about a woman who had to die a thousand deaths before breathing her last. It is difficult to write about something as gruesome as what’s making the headlines now, but I want to speak up because I know that my speaking out will encourage at least five more people to do so as well. However, there’s something that has been deeply troubling me these past few days.

We all have our own views on what is right and what is wrong. It’s normal to be subjective. However, an issue of this intensity does not require your subjective judgment. It’s disturbing that people from other countries are bold enough to stand against evil, yet some people in my own country are not. My question to them is, what’s stopping you? In this era of social media, where all it takes is one tap, why are you so afraid of spreading awareness? Why are you waiting for a heinous crime to turn into a political debate or a religious agenda so that you can then share and achieve who knows what?

Another thing that bugs me is how some people can be so insensitive that they start making memes and sharing their horrible opinions (that nobody asked for) about the victim. What exactly are they trying to achieve? This behavior is beyond me. It speaks volumes about their mentality, and I would urge anyone who has such people in their friend circles to reconsider those friendships. The least you can do is distance yourself from them and perhaps suggest they see a psychologist—they clearly need one.

To me, the system has definitely failed. How are we allowing these crimes to occur in the workplace? Even after so many acts and laws, where is the safety of the common person? Maybe society, with its deep-rooted patriarchy or pseudo-feminism, is at fault, but the system is also part of the problem.

This is not a political, gender, or religious debate. We are humans, but somewhere along the way, our humanity has been lost. However, even in all of this, I found a few things intriguing. I saw people from different castes, creeds, genders, religions, and ages coming together and demanding justice in the streets. I saw unity in the form of the entire medical fraternity across the nation. Despite the backlash faced by so many, I’ve seen women walking the streets on the eve of Independence Day for a cause, and I’ve seen men supporting them, lending their voices for justice. It’s beyond sad that the country had to unite in such a way, but please, we all have a moral conscience no matter what kind of life we lead. Let these voices not die down. Raise your voices for what is right and against crimes like these. If you are ignoring everything because it does not concern you, you are a huge part of the problem. I refuse to stay quiet, and so should you.