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Empower women
to ensure
their safety
I fully share The Tribune’s comprehensive argument that “Violence against women in India has deep roots in its patriarchal society”
(editorial, “Women’s safety: Not just a self-defence issue”, Nov 4). President Pratibha Patil while delivering her keynote address at the 125th anniversary celebrations of Isabella Thoburn College at Lucknow, has very sensibly underlined the age-old social prejudices and social evils that Indian women usually face under the dark shadow of feudal social constructs. Education can bring a qualitative change in the life of a woman and really empower her by making her economically self-reliant and socially aware of her own dignified existence. Women must be encouraged to learn the martial art of judo and karate to defend themselves effectively against anti-social elements and “social wolves” of all hues within and outside the four walls of their houses. But, this is not, as the editorial has thoughtfully pointed out, ‘just a self-defence issue.” The educated women must look beyond making themselves physically strong and come together in large numbers on a single platform to wage a consistent war against the practice of dowry, helpless condition of widows, childhood marriages, domestic violence and sexual abuse at work places. They must try to fathom the game being played by the commercial cinema and TV channels with their degenerate “reality shows” that project the female body as a commodity in countless advertisements which certainly make many of our youth ethically depraved and insensitive to the problems of girls and women. Many of our urban women happen to be highly educated and they lead different women’s organisations also. Still they fail to sympathise with the sufferings of their sisters belonging to the lower middle-class and rural families because of their own elitist prejudices. In Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, several women have become victims of “honour killings” at the hands of their own family members. We find even highly educated women helplessly tied down to tribal beliefs and prejudices. We can never become cultured and civilised without respecting the individual freedom, choice and dignity of our womenfolk. Dr RAJ
BAHADUR YADAV,
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II The editorial was apt and timely. The growing crime rate against women, is a matter of serious concern. President Pratibha Patil has rightly drawn the attention of the nation to this dismal phenomenon in society and has called for promoting self-defence skills among women. The self-defence skills must be started right from the schools. Learning such skills will lead to self-confidence among girls. Dr S KUMAR, Panchkula MFN status
The jubilation over Pakistan granting MFN status to India is out of proportion (editorial,
“Pak nod for MFN status”, Nov 4). The gesture reciprocated after 14 years of India granting the same status to Pakistan needs a thorough analysis and must be handled with utmost cautious optimism. Have the conditions and compulsions which necessitated such delay changed? Has the outlook and perception of the people at the helm of affairs in Pakistan, whether they are people in the government or the militant factions controlling vital forces changed in all these years? If not then what forced or encouraged them to be so ‘liberal hearted ‘and generous and that too without changing their stance on the root cause of every ill-will between the two nations that is Kashmir. Such empty rhetorical steps have been tried and tested earlier, too, but without any fruitful outcome. Diplomacy with Pakistan has failed and shall in future too unless and until Kashmir issue is properly addressed by both the nations, which in the present circumstances appears to be a distant dream. SANJEEV TRIKHA, Fatehabad
Kanimozhi’s bail
The editorial “Kanimozhi in jail” (Nov 5) rightly talks about jurists’ imagined worries. However, in a country that claims to be the world’s largest and properly functioning democracy it is rather paradoxical to favour technicalities of jurisprudence than the “prevailing” mood of the majority of the people. The court has done well by respecting the mood of the nation. Look at the Kasab case. Would any right thinking person, particularly those whose kin were killed in cold blood by him, appreciate the going on and on of the “prescribed” legal process? BALVINDER, Chandigarh
II
The efficacy of our justice delivery system, that has kept thousands of undertrials under incarceration with or without a chargesheet, has become increasingly questionable. The lower judiciary too perhaps, has acquired a mindset of retributive detention, under the apprehension that trials would get stretched and conviction doubtful. Through such consistent denial of bail to the accused, a message is inadvertently being sought to be conveyed that even the powerful must face the wrath of the law. Undertrials must get the protection and assistance amply envisaged in law. This can only be done by the dispassionate interpretation of the spirit of the law, at the ground level. Courts must ensure fairness not only during trial, but at the pre-trial stage as well. R NARAYANAN, Ghaziabad
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