Deeply offensive

Nearly two decades ago, Kurt Cobain came up with his semi-controversial song Rape Me. There was a remarkable touch of lonely pain in those lyrics. But all things sung and done, it was a song. That's it. Flash back to today's unmusical reality as something terrible happened in Delhi recently. The horrific details that emerged out of this incident (mind you, not an accident) makes one's soul turn sick. Those who committed this unpardonable offense won't be able to forgive themselves. We shall never forgive them in any case even though we might forget them in the long run. And the girl who was the victim is going to find it unbearably difficult to move on. Our society—despite its righteous hue and cry—is too stigmatic to be conducive enough for rehabilitation. Rape is infamous for doing that that to the fairer sex. More so, men who do that give rise to questionnaire...endless trail of queries that question us.

    So how do we deal with this horror as a pseudo-society? Where exactly does the problem lie? Are we so sexually regressive that our very sense of morality gets clouded at times? Good apple, bad apple? Does sadism constitute an inherent part of our DNA? Don't we keep evolving as a species? Who are we? Misogynists? Unabashedly patriarchal? Can the media do a bit more than worrying about its TRP? Would the government show its spine for a change? Where are the fast-track stringent laws that'd discourage repetition? Will the real feminists please stand up? What role did our parents play? Religio-socio hypocrisy? Have they raised their daughters at par with their sons? Why do the former feel so insecure then? Kung-fu someone? Shall our poor victim become the physiotherapist she always wanted to be? Which direction might lead to a nobler world? Were we lost? Or we are going to be lost? Gun control in US and penis control in India? Go Shariah for a change? Castration? Damn, wouldn't that hurt? Isn't pleasure from others' agony is what this is all about? Let's redeem ourself, whatsay? Set up an incorruptible fund-raiser instead? Discuss? Abort misconceptions and inseminate knowledge? Open up our mind a little and embrace our imperfections? Shout a bit softer and listen a bit louder? Do we really don't need education? Sex education, huh? Mutual respect is dead? Smiling can be dangerous? Can't trust anybody anymore? Wasn't Gandhiji right? Didn't the Mayans just fooled humankind? Do you hear that? That's animal kingdom laughing at us. 

    As a nation, we are very angry. But this understandable rage has very little to do with the crime (or the criminals) in question. On the contrary, the somewhat hapless emotion reflects strongly on the kind of frail structure we've built over the years. When a system fails, it shows. Sadly, it requires a tragedy of such momentous scale to hold our attention for long. Ergo, we've failed somewhere and that bothers us. We don't know the answers to the questions this widely-reported anomaly (although the word is an euphemism) has given birth to. And that makes us more than furious. Perhaps it's high time gender equality is offered a job and rape, retirement.

A for Allah, B for Burqa

Before i embark on this controversial subject, let me inform you that I’ve got nothing against Islam. In fact, i dearly believe in it though i don't practise it. Just like most other Muslims. I'm not an expert in it either. Just like most mullahs (unless your name is Dr. Zakir Naik). Anyway, in recent times, no other faith got subjected to criticism as intensely as Islam. Small wonder it's the fastest-spreading religion! Coming back to the topic at hand, I’m not against burqa. I think it makes a cool style statement and i will defend to the death a man's right to wear it. Yup. The reason why I’ve chosen to submit my invaluable inputs on this garment is the hypocrisy that goes into the making of a culture (mind you, not religion). Religion and culture might intermingle but they are two separate entities and the sooner we acknowledge the fact, the better it is. Islam is a religion and Arabic is NOT the only culture on the planet. One doesn't have to become an Arab to be a Muslim. As simple as that. If at all there should be a set dress code, it has to be free of sexism. Understandably, that ain't the case as the pseudo-code in this ambit has always been set by polygamous bearded men. And there is a huge difference between a hijab and a burqa and a niqab and so on. For argument's sake, let's stick to burqa here. You see, if one discards that ridiculous face veil, it's a pretty conventional garment. But when it covers a woman's identity, it delivers a thick-veiled attack on feminism—at least that’s what the West wants us to believe. The European retards who thought banning hijab in France would prove a point are damn right. It proves they are retards. At the end of the day, banning burqa is like banning a ban, right? Now, the van-friendly Netherlands is also planning to ban burqas from next year onwards. All of a sudden, the Dutch are speaking French! Fortunately, we won’t face such iniquity in India as our politics fornicates with religion on a daily basis. Our women are free to wear burqa whenever and wherever they like. They don't even have to be Muslims for doing so. By the way, Bohri women's rida pwns the plain-black-tortured-under-Indian-sun fabric by miles on aesthetic terms. On a serious note, i  guess a woman can not only wear a burqa but also mummify herself if SHE wants. It should purely be HER choice.