The Weaker Sex??

Amongst all the jubilations and ecstatic outbursts over the freedom of Egypt from a tyrant, there was a blemish to spoil the celebrations. It was really sad to hear about a female American journalist being sexually assaulted repeatedly, before a group of women could free her. Is this the way men show their happiness and joy? It was ironic that the only way for them to enjoy their newly gained freedom was by having control over someone else's liberty.

What was worse were the reactions and statements made by some. When a woman goes through something like that, she would want nothing more than anonymity and respect of her privacy. Instead of that, she got nothing but disrespectful comments and debates on public websites like Twitter. It was some of her fellow reporters who had some ugly comments for something which she had no control over. People had a problem that her case would be given so much more importance just because she is a 'white' woman, whereas hundreds of women face the same world over and never come to the forefront because they have no voice. It is so unjustified to have a comment like that. Wronged women are just victims, they are not white, black, colored or anything else; they are just women. And it is equally sad when any of them are mistreated.

In India, where it is a taboo to talk about rape or molestation, many women never come out to talk about it, because of the fear of judgement. They fear the public scrutiny, which more often than once goes against them to hold them responsible for their fate. But, what took me by shock was, when the same things happened in a supposedly "developed" country like America. It was appalling to read irrational statements in tabloids, linking her past relationships with this incident. What a woman does in her life is her business. There is no way a horrific act can be justified by what her past has been.

We never hear of men being judged by what they wear or how they behave and then, being adjudged of deserving mistreatment. So, how come the rules are different for men and women??? During the same time, when reporters were covering the Egypt protests, two male reporters were hit and hurt badly. Why were they not judged? I did not read any comments about how they had brought this on themselves, or how their actions were responsible for the mistreatment.

We have supposed to have come a long way from the times when women had no voice, but to think of it, do women really have a voice today? Even if some women have a voice, do they have the liberty of speaking out, without being judged??? Judgement is the worst deterrent of courage and if it were not for that, things would have been a lot more easier. If a woman in a country like America, where women rights are pretty strong, had to face the wrath,  I can only imagine the fear women must go through in places, where there is no such thing as rights for women.

What was worse was when other women reporters, came out to say that all of them had faced ugly experiences. If it wasn't for the love for their job, they would not have gone back to this profession. Isn't is sad that in a time, when we give so much importance to human rights, women do not even have the freedom to chose their profession, without the fear of being aggrieved? What freedom are we talking about, when a person sometimes is kept from doing what they love, apprehending the consequences???

And do not be hasty to think that it is just this field that brings you face to face with such dangers. Women being ill-treated has got nothing to do with their jobs, what they do or what they don't. It is the twisted mindset that comes into play here and for which there have to be stricter rules. A perverted mind has to be nipped in the bud before it targets the "weaker sex". I fail to understand how something can be labelled 'weaker', when it takes nothing but exceptional strength to endure humiliation, disrespect and mockery and still champion the causes for others in need!!!