Category Archives: India’s Daughters

Studyhall Educational Foundation is launching a campaign called “India’s daughters: Unwanted, Unsafe, Unequal”. We invite the entire Studyhall family, students, alumni, teachers, parents and others to join us as we raise our voice and consciousness against gender violence and gender inequality in India in particular and in the world in general. The campaign will include online and offline activites which will be announced on our website. Please participate in the discussions by writing blogs and comments and encourage your family and friends to do the same. Let us all work together towards an egalitarian social order.

Unacknowledged

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Rohina Dass
XI D

Unacknowledged

Unwanted
When X and X chose one another,
It made her a girl.
Blamed for this catastrophe was the mother,
And so the torment began to unfurl.

Unsafe
Her first trial was survival,
In the womb itself, if she could remain concealed
Right up till her arrival
And then, her true worth was revealed.

Unloved
Arguments were fought so that she wouldn’t be thrown.
An object she was to be, a lifeless barely breathing commodity
Raised in the shadows, trying to atone
For sins unknown to her, a tear in plea

Unequal
Her brother waved at her as he left for school
She wiped her small forehead while doing the dishes
Tender fingers, hands equally able to hold a pencil, her education is overruled
Home is where her mind shall be even if it is against her wishes.

Unacceptable
We are women and men of a modern age
The women’s rights movement began centuries ago,
Wars started and they ended. How many more do we wage?
Till we go crazy and so does the ratio?

We ought to understand, we ought to feel
Today it was her; tomorrow it’ll be me?
We have been scarred enough, lets try and heal
I demand it despite everything and so would she.

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was my being a girl a burden on earth?

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Shatakshi swaroop

Class XII D, Study Hall

so calm so peace,
in the womb as i sleep.
90 days of my growth,
still to grow,still to grow.
i feel the love i feel it in
but everything soon,came to still.
the door of my room, was opened soon
and was brought to the world
that was my own too
But things did’nt went,
the way the should have been
as i was soon packed in a polythene
saying my birth was a sin
they threw me out in a dustbin
i felt the sharp teeth on my skin
and was torn into pieces bit by bit…
eaten away by carnivores
my existence in the world
was no more…
with pain and questions embeded in heart
my soul and  body go apart
i wander still around to be heard
“was my being a girl a burden on earth ?”

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बिटिया बनाम हाशिया

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Suman Diwedi
Study Hall School
भारतीय इतिहास भले ही वीरांगनाओ की शौर्य गाथा से भरा हो। उसे देवी,शक्ति,दुर्गा,काली, कुछ भी कहा गया हो, परन्तु ये भी कटु सत्य है कि तमाम कोशिशो और सामाजिक विकासो के बावजूद भी उसे हाशिये पर ही रक्खा जाता है क्यों? क्यों जन्म लेने से पूर्व ही बच्चियों को मार देने की प्रथा बदस्तूर जारी है? एक खोज के अनुसार-‘ कन्या भ्रूड़ हत्या’भारत में आज भी चली आ रही है।उम्मीदों के विपरीत कन्या हत्या कम होने के बजाये कुछ दशको से बढ़ती ही जा रही है।

निजी बात पर आधारित एक शोध (45 मिलियंस दौतर्स मिसिंग) के अनुसार -जब लड़के का जन्म होता है तो औरते थाली बजाकर या हवा में आग उछाल कर उसके जन्म की घोषणा करती है। लेकिन यदि परिवार में बेटी पैदा हो जाये तो परिवार की बुजुर्ग औरत जाकर परिवार के पुरुषो से पूछती है कि -‘बारात रखनी है या लौटानी है’।अगर आदमी ये जवाब देता है कि ‘लौटानी है’। तो सारे पुरुष चले जाते है और तब जच्चा माँ को नन्ही बेटी के मुहँ में तम्बाकू रखने को कहा जाता है। जच्चा माँ के विरोध का मतलब है,उसकी जान को खतरा या उसे घर से निकाले जाने की धमकी।

सोचिये और विचार भी कीजिये की इसका जिम्मेदार कौन?मै तो कहती हूँ ये एक सोची समझी साजिश है जिसकी नीति के तहत बेटियों को हाशिये पर सरकाया जा रहा है।उनकी सत्ता को मिटाया जा रहा है।प्रश्न गंभीर है कि एक ऒर जहां देश में जातिगत,धार्मिक,सामुदिक,दंगों में कत्लेआम खुलेआम होता है वही दूसरी    ऒर शिक्षा विकास के बावजूद भी इसे गुप्त रूप से लोग कर रहे है, और शायद वे ये सोच रहे है कि परिवार को संतुलित करने का यही एक कारगर तरीका है-‘बेटा बचाओ -बेटी हटाओ’।अगर मै गलत नहीं हूँ तो आप ही बताइए की क्या ये सच नहीं कि कई साल पहले जब हम तकनीकि रूप से इतने विकसित नहीं थे। बच्चियों को तो हम तब भी मार देते थे। आज जब हम शिक्षित है तो दो कदम आगे है। हम अल्त्रासौन्द कराकर यह पहले ही जान लेते है कि गर्भस्थ शिशु क्या है? शिशु का लिंग पता चलते ही हम उसे रखने या गिराने का फैसला ले लेते है क्या ये न्याय संगत है? या भविष्य में होगा। मै पूछती हूँ कब मिटेगा ये हाशिया?

उत्तर भारत का एक प्रसिद्ध लोकगीत है-
प्रभुजी! मै तोरी विनती करूँ, पैयाँ पडूं बार-बार,
अगले जन्म मोहि बिटिया न दीजो, नरक दीजो डार ।
सुनने में यह भले ही मर्मस्पर्शी लगता हो परन्तु इतना तो  स्पष्ट कर देता है की बेटियां बोझ है-आर्थिक बोझ –
उनके रहन-सहन,खानपान,शिक्षा-दिशा,विवाह-दहेज़। एक पुरानी कहावत है कि -‘बेटियों को पालना ऐसा है जैसे पड़ोसियों के बागीचे में पानी देना’ कितना दुखद है ये कथन और शर्मशार कर देने वाला भी- की जो जननी है उसका जिम्मेदार कौन? पिता ? पति ?या ससुराल ? दुःख ? दहेज़ और अभिशप्त जीवन।

सोचिये अगर सामाजिक रीतिरिवाज एक माँ-बाप को यदि बेटी जन्म की खुशी नहीं देते तो हम क्या आशा रक्खे कि यही समाज आगे चलकर बिटिया को हाशिया नहीं समझेगा?
मै थी
तुम्हारे अन्दर
सांस और
जीवन बनकर
सुन भी
न पाई थी
अपनी धड़कन
कतरा-कतरा
कर दिया मेरा जीवन !!!

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Towards Egalitarianism

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Kavita Upadhyay
Study Hall School

The concern in the eyes of my parents in the 70s when Sanjay and Geeta Chopra case shook the nation when two young school going siblings were attacked by Ranga Billa, raped and killed, we feel the same magnitude of concern for our daughters. Times have not changes the issue of sexual crime against women. The 16th December 2012, Nirbhaya case would not have been there if the governance of the country had shown consideration earlier. Rightly, Justice Verma reiterates that it is the failure of governance which is the root cause of crime against women. Millions in one voice cried for justice against the ever-increasing rape cases in India.

The voice finally shook few from their slumber and the outcome is in the form of Justice Verma Committee report. The report, though rules out death penalty but says life imprisonment must always mean imprisonment for the entire natural life of the convict. It recommends punishment for trafficking and instructs stalking should be viewed as a serious offence. The police has been asked to be more gender sensitive and to register cases of sexual assault without harassing the victim. Underlying the recommendation made by the Verma committee is a new charter of the rights for sexual offence victims. The degree to which India succeeds in becoming a liberal country and combat patriarchy and violence against females will be decided by a single factor and that is to what extent these legal rights are actually conferred on the women of India.

The report comes at a time when the situation has become gruesome, brutal and difficult to control. NCRB data suggests rape crime has gone up by 829% since 2001. What are we waiting for? 50% of the countries population is unsafe and on the verge of living under constant threat of being sexually harassed at any point of time and at any place. A constant upsurge in sexual violence cases against women have been recorded for years but ignored because of lack of political will and frequent involvement of authorities in such crimes.

The youth of the country took to the streets in a peaceful way asking for a good governance, law and order in the country to make life safe for females. Thanks to Justice Verma and his team to accept that, an attitude change is expected in the older generation and so for the governance to bring safety in the lives of girls. Of course, this is a mammoth task when the target groups involve insensitive brutal people like Ram Singh who perceive women as an object and nothing else. Strict implementation of laws is obviously a much needed tool to bring this change in the attitude. Inclusion of gender sensitivity program in school curriculum is urgently required at all levels of education.

As ordinary citizens, our role increases manifold to help each other understand the importance and advantage of an egalitarian society where both boys and girls survive happily. Empowering of girls does not mean disempowering boys. It is simple respect and giving a chance to live freely to the girls.

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A Student of Study Hall School

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Laiba Fatima Rizvi
Class VII – D, Study Hall School

I am very glad to be a student of Study Hall because our school is fighting against women rights!!! After the dreadful Delhi gang rape case the whole of India has got scared. The 23 year old girl was battling for life but unfortunately she died. WE SHOULD GIVE EQUAL RIGHTS TO WOMEN.Technology has changed , everything has changed but the mindset of some people has not changed. Today also they think women are of no use.Still women are unsafe and unwanted. The six men who raped her should be hanged to death. We CAN stop these crimes only when people change their minds. Government should make strict laws against the rapist .Women are not for the pleasure of men or for their entertainment .Women and men are both equal .Today in our country women also work and take care of their family and house .Then why should we not respect them .We should respect women and be good citizens.
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A Fundamental Shift

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Pinky Yadav
Class VIII
Prerna School
As a thriving country, India is taking huge steps towards becoming a world class- country but the safety of it’s residents especially women remains a concern. According to surveys. India ranks among the top five most “unsafe” places for women in the world. Is it the deep-rooted psyche of a male dominated society; the lack of education and morals or is it the socio-economic diversity or perhaps it is all of them. Where is the respect for women in society? Though we are in the 21st century. Women still are vulnerable to the tortures of men. It seems being born as a woman is a curse in this country. Though there are women leaders in top positions and women police officers, the condition of the ordinary women is grave, crimes against women refuse to reduce and the politicians keep fighting among themselves instead of taking some firm action so that woman feel safe in this country. “It’s not enough to have a law. The implementation needs to be resourced well enough for it to work.” The biggest hope for change lies with future generations. Let’s treat sons and daughters in the same home with equal love and fairness, teach brothers to respect and honour their sister and raise our sons to believe that women are equal to men in all respects. This is a fundamental shift that has the potential to save the next generation of women. This crucial responsibility has been entrusted to the parents of sons. Bring up your girl child with care. Make her self -reliant and give her education as self reliance is power. If you do this your girl-child will respect
you more and will care for you for the rest of your life.

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Identifying the wrong touch

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Surabhi Kapoor
Principal, Dosti School

Groping, pinching and fondling in public places is something most women have experienced. However, most of these cases go unreported – or simply ignored. The reason for ignoring such instances of sexual harassment is simple – an absolute nonexistence of a support system that will hear and take action against perpetrators – it comes down to the victim’s word against the accused. So, in the light of this how can such instances of sexual abuse and violence against women in India be stopped?
Women with special needs are sadly unaware of such advances, mostly taking it as routine – until it is too late. Girls, both normal and with special needs, need to be taught to identify the “wrong touch” both at home and in public places such as on trains, buses, railway stations, market places and in school. Educating them to deal with such instances as and when they occur may not completely do away with this evil, but it will definitely act as a deterrent. However, these women need a support system that includes social services, efficient policing, and a speedy judicial system that will hear such cases and hand down judgments in the shortest time possible. After all, justice delayed is justice denied!
When perpetrators of crimes against women are punished appropriately and in time, others will be deterred and crimes against women will reduce considerably.
Violence against the girl child and women with disabilities is not just about any kind of physical violence; violence includes negligence, denying them traditional roles such as marriage and motherhood, and of course emotional, mental and physical abuse.
In fact, such is the state of affairs in India that discrimination against the girl child begins even before birth – and at this stage the parents are not even aware of the physical development of the fetus, imagine their reaction if they knew the fetus were special!
Girls and women with disabilities should especially be taught to recognize “the wrong touch. They should be taught to react and report such incidents irrespective of the man (or woman) concerned. Sexual advancements towards women mostly involve known men. Sadly, in many cases it involves the men in the family, such as the fathers of the girls, brothers, uncles and even close family friends – the nature of their relationship with the victim does not absolve them of their crime, and Indian women should understand this without any doubt.
Mothers, sisters, aunts and colleagues, both at work and in school, should be made aware of the need to protect each other by vocalizing any incident of physical and mental abuse against women – especially those with special needs. They should be made aware of the support systems in place to deal with such cases and most of all, they should be made aware that they have a special place in an educated society that has no right to discriminate against women.
It is time to speak out, educate and protect each other against a growing menace that stems from within our sex – mothers unable to bring up their sons to respect womankind. A revolution has to begin with women because only women can end atrocities against themselves – right minded men can only support us.

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A poem on Nirbhaya

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Ananya Nagar

अस्मत

वो फटे दुप्पटे से
वो फटे दुप्पटे से
अपनी छाती छिपाए
कभी पूरी कभी आधी छिपाए
इधर उधर भागे
भूखे कुत्ते से सब उसको ताके
कोई चेहरे पे मारे हाथ
कोई करता उसके स्तनों पे वार
बिखरे बाल
बिगड़ा हाल
चार टूटी चूड़िया
सिन्दूर की बेतरतीब लकीरें
हाथों से वो आँखों के आंसू पोंछे
भूखे भेड़िये उसे पल पल नोचे
हर आहट पे वो अब भी घबराये
जो भी आँचल पाए छिप जाए
फटे दुप्पटे से ही वो खुद को ढाके
फिर भी अब तक उसकी रूह काँपे
चेहरे पे नाखून
चेहरे पे नाखून
उससे बहता खून
उसकी कहानी बतलाये
कौन है वो
कौन है वो
क्यों वो लजाये
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What is repeatedly going wrong?

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YOGESH CHANDRA
A retired Banker and a proud father of a son and a daughter-inlaw ,and Grandfather of two sweet kids..a boy and a girl

As in case of many , I am also deeply anguished and disturbed about the recent unfortunate incidents happening in our country. Each day , it is a sad dawn when we see half the newspaper headlines , ridiculing us and jeering at our helplessness. What is repeatedly going wrong ? Where are we erring in bringing up our children ? These are the broad questions that agitate our mind…Here I wish to raise two important issues that may throw some light on possible solutions to these problems.
To my mind , there is an imperative need to brainstorm on two vital aspects of this malaise…
1. Is it not the time to redefine , the term “Values” , which we keep harping on that both sexes should follow…In fact , there are two sets of values , one for men and the other for women…and the set of values , made for women is much more stringent , which even talks about , how should they dress up, where should they go , and even how should they walk and whom should they talk or not talk to..and why should they study, when ,they think that their ultimate objective is to bear and rear children , prepare food and should be the last person to eat after everyone in the family has eaten..strange…why not eat together??? All these , shall I call them , parental recordings even in the so-called civilised world need to be redefined…
2. After such a crime is committed and the matter stands reported to law.., why should we just sit back and relax , saying that now law will take its own course…With all respect to our country’s legal system , why can’t we think of devising ways and means that the law takes a faster course and comes to conclusion within a given frame of time..Besides establishing fast track courts , is there not a need of making suitable amendments in the penal code and/ or criminal procedure to achieve justice expeditiously..Though I have never been a student of law, but I strongly feel that there is need for legal experts to sit together and think about it….as we all know that ‘Justice delayed is Justice denied’….

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An appeal to all parents

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Shalini Chandra

 

Shalini Chandra
Head Mistress, Junior School, Study Hall

The Nirbhaya tragedy has brought our girls and women into focus for all the wrong reasons ..”Give freedom to the girls to dress the way they want and go where they wish to and this is what will happen!”—-proclaim the fundamentalists .The so called progressive groups on the other hand are crying themselves hoarse demanding freedom for girls .I feel that if we really want to learn a lesson from this horrific crime , then we should all be asking just one question—how are we raising our boys?

We have to seriously rethink about our notions of ‘manly’ and ‘macho’ and stop accepting eve teasing and other obscene behaviour patterns in boys as ‘normal’ and ‘healthy’ .We should also take care that in the name of ‘Sanskaar’ , we must not teach them to treat girls as weak , insecure and needing protection .Parents don’t have to do things consciously to raise a boy well but following certain unwritten rules will go a long way in ensuring a healthy growth .A mother’s voice should never be stifled and she should have an equal say in the boy’s upbringing .Children of both sexes MUST play  and if possible , study together .Only then will the boys realise that the girls are equally capable , intelligent and fun to be with and not objects of desire .Parents and teachers have to watch their own language and behaviour carefully .Regular monitoring and counselling of teenaged boys will prevent them from succumbing to peer pressure .It sounds like a lot of effort but actually it requires just a change of our mindset . As a mother I appeal to all parents of boys to please give this a thought ?Back to campaign