D.r FARKHANDA RAHMAN | ADVOCATE MALIK SHAGUFTA
Mystery is what makes women, woman- Imania Margria. In the Milky Way of cosmos is a secret: Woman! The world’s first robot citizen Sophia is a woman! For what quality prompts a woman not to reveal her age but to relate secrets she has just sworn not to repeat to anyone. What illusive quality guides a woman to hang out with her compeers (me time), and discuss at the same time the school performance of her children? Bargain in apples at the market and yet maintain her aura. What is it that permits a woman to say prayer while driving in the evening hours? What makes her run a red light? Is she genuinely late to cook meals and see her family or just to overrule the rules?
A woman is an intricate maze woven in the covert layers of her womanhood. You may read her like an open book and yet know her like the tip of an iceberg! Individuality and diversity are the key words of femininity. Womanhood empowers a woman to adjust and change, thus to endure. It allows her to overlook the imperfections in the family and to work more patiently at tasks which don’t even exist. War time sieges are the testaments that women can withstand the mental breakdowns and emotional shocks better not because they are resistant but resilient. Modern womanhood grants women the power of unveiling one of their secrets—identity. It is not their names with designations but the conscious of oneself as a person. Identity is being in gear with ones capacities, abilities and feelings while tuning in with the richness of own personalities, ideas and vision. Feminineness should not be an obstacle to the freedom of thought and conscience as it is eternal. Since her origin is from a rib, why expect her to be straight?
Violence is an umbrella term, with the spectrum of forms (not so colourful though!). One in every three females is a victim which documents that violence is not just a table talk but for real. The physical targeting is not an entire pattern of violence, a single stare without her consent counts in. Limited access to; environment, education, opportunities, decision making, jobs and unwilling marriages, offend and abuse contour other spokes of the umbrella. Discrimination demands no precise place or time. It may be homespun behind the domestic doors andconcealed by the members under same roof or it may be overt at any public point. Domestic violence is the most common form of violence (especially after COVID-19 pandemic) but yet the least addressed one. Forced marriages, unhealthy relationships, dowry, increasing demands and competitions, substance abuse, extra marital relationships, fertility issues, insecurities etc. fan the fire of domestic violence. Superstitions also amplify violence byrestricting a woman from doing households when she is menstruating, cornering a woman (mother of daughters) from attending a baby shower, blaming a woman for the birth of a girl child. Violence and abuse of any kind hurts the dignity, integrity, self-determination and mental faculty of both the parties and importantly children.
As the emergence of a Pandemic is perceived, the preparedness to fight it back gets geared up. From the apex administrations to every house hold, all tools are kept handy to play it safe. The gender based violence is a private pandemic by virtue of 3Ss; Silence, Stigma and Shame that surround it. The cocoon breaks at the right stage. Every shade of violence used to be concealed with silence. But now the tables are turning. A woman in trouble may know the solution but all she needs is someone to listen and understand. Ministry of Women and Child Development launched a Centrally Sponsored Scheme—Sakhi (as a sub-scheme of Umbrella Scheme for National Mission for Empowerment of Women) for setting up One Stop Centres (OSCs). The scheme is now subsumed into Sambal sub-scheme of Mission Shakti. The OSCs offer an integrated support to aggrieved women of any age, caste, race, status, and culture. The OSCs aim to facilitate access to essential services and support, ensuring well-being, empowerment, and eventual reintegration of the afflicted women to the society. They create a welcoming and non-judgmental atmosphere where victims feel safe to share their experiences. The OSCs provide; emergency response and rescues, medical assistance, temporary shelter, receiving and disposal of grievances on time, psychosocial support, legal aid and counselling, police assistance, skill development and livelihood support, awareness and education. The special services offered by any One-Stop Centre might vary based on the location, resources available, and partnership with various organizations. However, their overall goal is to provide comprehensive support to survivors and contribute to the prevention of gender-based violence.
The District Development Commissioner Ganderbal and District Social Welfare Department have created the SAKHI-Women club, a unified platform that provides women in every panchayat, block, and the district of Ganderbal with easy access to justice and support services. It aims to coordinate departments, organisations and individuals of same mottos. Fortnight meetings (on every Saturday), organising workshops and seminars to disseminate useful information, establishment of peer support groups (to connect, share experiences and provide emotional support to each other), hotline service (181), helpline or chat service to seek advices, sharing updates and success stories on social media handles to expand the club’s reach, skill development of women in distress, evaluation of clubs effectiveness and up-gradation; the One Stop Centre in Ganderbal is working in full swing.
In every ultrasonography waiting room hangs a board reading; “SEX DETERMINATION IS STRICTLY PUNISHABLE AND PROHIBITED”. The dawn of gender based violence kick-off from her first kick in the mother’s womb. The literacy rates are at a hike and same is the graph of female genocide. One woman/girl is killed in every eleven minutes worldwide. Human trafficking is at a surge in Jammu and Kashmir. Under the pretext of being provided well-paying jobs or respectful marriages, women turn out to be the victims of violence (of any form). What makes them to fall in the trap? Lack of awareness and education are the main ingredients of this vicious elixir. Does the dearth of finances make her to take the shortcut for fulfilling her dreams? Respecting decisions or view points and maintaining the hierarchy in a family is obligatory but understanding each other is a panacea! Change is the cornerstone of evolution and there is always a possibility to mould our perspective for the sake of good.
(Dr. Farkhanda Rahman is a Veterinary Assistant Surgeon, Department of Animal Husbandry Kashmir and can be reached out at [email protected]). And Advocate Malik Shagufta is the Centre Administrator of One Stop Centre, Ganderbal)
