Yes, I am talking about CSAAM !!! I hope that all you people have been following the Survivor Stories, the Tweet Chats, the messages by Arpan among the many things the wonderful group of ladies have been doing for the past one month. Of course, there has been a lot of awareness, with the media coming forward too !!!
I hope that at least from now, the children will surely talk about it and not keep it to themselves. And more than that, I am going to trust that all parents will believe their children and stand up for them, during tough times.
Recently, I had a one of a kind moment, when I met with a 9-yr old girl, a Survivor and totally a fighter.
After her mother’s demise, she came to Chennai with her sister, to study. While staying in the hostel, she was raped by a laborer. Complaints were made and that guy was later arrested. She went boldly to the Prison to identify that culprit and he is being punished.
I said Bravo, when I heard this. I also understood the trauma she would’ve undergone, during this testing time. But, she amazes me by her smile and confidence. I am happy she overcame the demons inside her. She wishes to learn the Karate !!!! I said Go for it – she’ll at least be able to kick that guy who comes near her with a wrong intention.
This was the first time ever, that I met with a survivor or heard such a story through a personal contact. The feelings are mixed for me, after I met with her. I am totally paranoid where my girls are concerned and here I see this brave and courageous girl, all of 9 yrs, trying to face a World, which she has experienced to be dirty. What a difference !!!
I need to protect my girls, but at the same time make them aware of lurking dangers and give them the independence to choose the right and wrong !!! Its tough parenting, really !!! And what with the World, making the job more difficult for mothers like me.
I’ve to talk about one more incident that’s been on my mind for sometime now…
I saw this teenage girl of 12-14 yrs, during my morning walk. She was little bit on the heavier side and that’s probably the reason, she was walking super fast in the mornings. Since she walked anti-clockwise, I just happened to notice that she was not wearing proper inner garments, which made the older men walking to stand and stare at her young and shaking breasts. Now, this made me furious and I gave them enough glare to make them walk away and to mind their own business.
During my last lap, I happened to meet her mom and spoke to her about this. I apologised first for talking about their personal matters. But since I am a mother of two girls and these kind of things are hard for mothers to take from others…..I talked to her about how she can make her daughter feel comfortable in whatever dress she wants to wear. Its we, as mothers and guide, need to tell our children how best we can dress and be comfortable in them too. At the same time, how to maximum avoid the confrontation with the lusting oldies and their ogling eyes !!!
With fashionistas hitting an all high, there are so many varieties of tops to wear with Jeans !!! How can you say NO to ur daughter for the dresses she chooses, for the simple reason that those lusting men will be luring at her ???? It’s a tough thing to balance between the two. I try to reach a compromise somewhere in-between, where that top can be made to look better with good and fitting inner-wear. I hope that the other mothers will agree with me on this.
While we cannot be with our children, throughout their life, we need to teach them to dress well, protect themselves from getting into unwanted situations and more than that, to scream and shout and call for help. Theres nothing to be embarrassed by the scream, in cases of need.
Even though the Awareness Month has come to an end, this topic cannot rest. Let the survivors come out and talk and heal their inner souls. Let this be a beginning to an Awareness drive for those women and children, who need a helping hand.
UmaS Reflections 