More on Street Harassment, Sex-Ratios, This Time!

This is an extension of the blogathon on “street harassment,” in which I gave some gyan (wisdom) not long ago. More gyan or zen came my way, so I am sharing.

Most women in India are disconcerted, no, offended that men look at them, sometimes even stare at them at times when they least want their attention. Are we some “endangered species?” they ask chagrined by the eyes ogling them at bus stops, train stations and other public places. But a look at this map which shows sex ratios throughout India will show that in the vast hills and plains of the north and north-east, the female ratio is very low, around nine-hundred females for every thousand males. Female infanticide is no longer the topic of hush-hush discussion in closed rooms; it is a reality.

Still wonder why men stare? I am told that men in the states of Punjab and Harayana go to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to buy their women, as they don’t have hopes of getting anyone in their own state. Yes, they pay money and buy women. Talk of genetic engineering and other, deeper, gyan, which I wouldn’t go into here.

Still wonder why men stare? Because they can’t get any women, no, can’t even get near those beauteous creatures. Therefore the clichéd stereotyped image of the repressed and rakish Indian male, with their wolf whistles and sexist comments.

What now? If things won’t improve then there is serious threat of increasing atrocities committed against women. Something needs to be done, but what?
Tags: India, Street Harassment, North India, Female Infanticide, Indian Women, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh