My internship submission asked me for an essay on sexual harassment and gender neutrality. I think i did a wonderful job at writing it so here it is:
The laws and views on sexual harassment and gender neutrality are blunderous and outdated. Why we even have these are questionable. When we see shows like Bombay Begums our initial reaction is not goosebumps at the victory and the underlying message and the filthiness one feels when they realize that they could have had a hand at someone feeling like it was okay to harass someone. We turn our focus on the 13-year-old child snorting coke and make it our mission to have it banned. But the way it focuses on the changes a coming of age teen goes through and how there is not enough talk about their changing sexuality is why we need it. We feel that if the harasser is good-looking why was the harassee having any qualms at the notion of being harassed, they should feel wanted. And if the harassee is good-looking we talk of how it is because of them that the harasser was forced to do it. We question the way they dress and ask if they were drunk, going as far as hinting that they must have initiated the unwanted sexual advances that came their way as if someone would want to willingly feel used and dirty. In all the spheres we target the harassee, and this is what is done in the courts as well. It does not really matter if our laws are beneficial or not (they aren't) because the sheer blame game that we saught to clear the harasser's name is enough of a fault of our judicial system.
Gender Neutrality in India will take a long time to come. Semi-matriarchial in some parts we solely depend on the male being the dominant and the underlying patriarchy that seemingly drives the country will not allow for gender-neutral laws. This would give the female equal rights as males in both positive and negative aspects and desi families that make us will take a long time to come around it and let it happen.
In a country that is majorly a Hindu dominant that has a number of goddesses to pray to we still don’t feel that it is okay for a female to dress how they want, for a female to study what and when they want, for a female to go through a divorce or choose when they want to marry. We put restrictions on them that should not exist in the first place and then proceed to give them reservations. Women don’t need reserved seats, they are capable of getting any post they desire if the societal restrictions are lifted from them.
The bottom line is that we have a long way to go before we even make it common for harassee’s to discuss being harassed in their homes without their family making it feel like it was their fault. Having victories sanctioned by the judicial system seems like far-fetched dreams.
u can be a good sociologist
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