Building women-friendly nations…

There’s so much talk about importance of eco-friendliness in anything and everything – from decreasing carbon footprints to reduced use of plastic, controlling fuel emission to switching off all lights to mark the Earth Hour – that I sometimes feel optimistic, maybe we still can be salvaged – environmentally, that is.

However, and I regret the awful comparison, I strongly believe we are not doing enough to make this world a better place for women.

Hang on, no, I am not campaigning for the Women’s Reservation Bill – I do not trust the ideology behind reservations – Equal Opportunities - YES. Quota reservations – NO.

Reserving seats does not ensure deserving candidates; more women candidates in governing bodies does not necessarily translate into empowerment for all women. But, that is a whole new debate outside of what I have in mind today.

This article on Iceland’s highly successful endeavors in almost eliminating the sex industry in the Nordic country provides a heartening ray of hope. Ignore the dig at the probability of the prime minister being a lesbian. Sexual orientation has nothing to do with feminism, and we can discuss that later.

Unlike in a hypocritical country like ours, where women drinking in bars out of their own free will attract more protesters than young girls forced into prostitution, Iceland, as a nation, unites to stand up against commodification of women. Men finally get the first most important lesson in humanity: You buy your drink at the pub, not a woman.

It is outrageous, when the politicians in various countries try to argue on the benefits of legalizing the sex trade – This is sheer regression. Instead of working towards upliftment of women we are trying to justify institutionalization of derogation of women, making it a systemic part of the legal function. Why?

Retarded men and women defend it by making tall claims such as legalization would help reducing crimes such as rapes against women, many women treat this as a serious occupation and feed their families from it. Some even go the extent of stating that such a measure would help freeing men from their repressed frustrations. WTF!

Other WTF defenses include that prostitution has been a part of Indian culture – yeah right, so has bride burning, killing of the female infant, and other such atrocities against the so called “fairer and weaker” sex. So what do we do, legalize these as well?

Strip clubs, lap dance bars and red light areas make a lot of business sense – for the pimps and the middlemen – not for the “objects” that are put up on sale at such places.

Majority women are forced into prostitution by poverty-stricken families or heinous captors; they do not join the flesh trade for want of glamour, as many claim. These women are abused, physically and mentally tortured, not paid adequately, deprived of medical assistance – basically forced to live in the inferno of hell.

There is no hope of escape for generations together. These women are not the entrepreneurs they are made out to be in some countries – they are exploited to a degree that should put our entire civilization to shame.

Moreover, statistics claim that there is no correlation between legalizing prostitution and decrease in the crimes against women. In fact, most of these countries, such as The Netherlands, have seen a sharp spike in child prostitution post legalization of this form of “male violence”.

I really wonder when the world will awaken to the need to collectively and proactively work towards building women-friendly nations.

Why can’t we have Copenhagen summits like we did for the environment?

Why can’t world leaders come together and act together like they did for the economic crisis of 2008?

Why can’t more countries follow the Iceland example?

We have miles to go, and it pains me that try as much, I can’t even list the various forms of sexual exploitation alone that a woman is subjected to – child molestation, eve teasing, gang rapes, marital rapes, human trafficking, prostitution, sexual slavery, the list goes on.

Where is feminism, an often misunderstood and misquoted term, in asking for an end to all this – isn’t it Humanism instead?

Right to equality, Right to freedom from exploitation – Our fundamental rights guaranteed by the Indian constitution, remember anyone?