In 2008, Sheila Dikshit commented that it was the girl’s fault if she was out till 3 a.m. in Soumya Vishwanathan’s killing. A few years later, Sharad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav said that boys will be boys, and you cannot blame them for stalking and luring at girls.
Now the girls are again rebelling against Ramveer Bhatti’s comment in Chandigarh stalking case, when he said that the girl should not have gone out at midnight. Her parents should take care that she returns home in time. The girl in question, Varnika Kundu asserted that her safety should not be dependent on the hour on the clock.
While what girls are upto on their own time is nobody’s business, there is a parochial tendency that “good girls” return home before dark. All girls out late evoke questions on their character and honor. The whole rational of correlating time with character is irrational.
All girls who stay out late are not partying. Women have hard task maintaining their work life balance. Many career women are breaking glass ceilings in newer fields and expecting them to follow archaic “home before dusk” rules is irrational.
By that rule, should not airhostesses and commercial pilots report to work? Should software engineers leave misbehaving computer codes unresolved just because the sun is set on daylight? Should women not opt for career in glamour or hospitality industry because models and chefs may return late from work?
Whether she is out to work or party, a girl has the right to walk down a street without stares at any time of the day. Whether she returns home from a party or office or heads out for a midnight stroll, it is her choice. What a person does with their time is nobody’s business except their own.
A girl has the right to step out of home any time of the day. What she steps out for is her choice, and not for others to judge.
