With regards to many Neha of m

With regards to the many Neha of my land.

Dear Neha,

I won't pray for your soul to rest in peace. I am praying with all my power to thee to send you back to earth. To realise your unfulfilled dreams, live a life with your own term and to inspire those millions Neha to voice in the face of vicious men.

My heart sank over the news of Neha Paswan’s death. A girl was brutally beaten up to death by her family members over her insistence to wear jeans. My blood is boiling on the cruel Indian brute. 

Neha a 17 years level-head girl aspired to be a police officer and has set her sights on. Her distressed mother said Neha wanted to live her head high in the male-dominated world by being independent. His daily wager father in distanced suburban works hard not to hinder his daughters from getting proper education. But Neha’s grandparents and paternal uncles were dead against of her idea of pursuing a carrier. Neha has been the target of the family’s eerie for not abandoning studies and she ever turns down the unjustified restriction that is designed to fetter the females under the premise of homes. Her stubborn denial over the arbitrary patriarchal rules led her to the horrific end. 

Because Neha performed rituals in untraditional attire she was thrashed by sticks and succumbed to death. In the 21st century, this is the stark scenario of my country.

It evoked a bitter past that flashed in my mind. Exactly 20 years ago when I did urge to wear jeans in my teen, then it was quite a steer in my family too. My entire extended family including my parents went ballistic as if I have done some obscene. My small wish was denounced abysmally so I gave up and wearing blue jeans remained an unfulfilled desire in the dark corner of my heart. 

I had been brought up in a joint family system. Rules of patriarchy used to be formidably tight. Life was immured between school, college and home. The picture remained same when I entered  the threshold of  my new home into my in-laws house. When I defied to put veil, all hell went loose. A barrage of criticism hurled upon me. When I retrot my character was dissected and I was subjected to long prosecutions as if I had committed some sin. Their pique didn't halt there, social proprietary of my parents put into question.

Voicing would draw terrible repurcussion  from admant elders, though I have never beaten up still lambast used to be an analogy to whip me down till I surrendered to the unjust dictate.

At this moment I am both ashamed and aghast, in these 20 years, there is no change in Societal attitude. To the same issue, I choose silence capitulation in dreaded fear whereas Neha bravely stood to the baseless condemnation dismissing the worthless social strictures.

Jeans are made to wear then why girls are being desisted from wearing them. Why girl can’t enjoy the liberty to choose her dress code. Our tradition and culture are disregarded if a girl wears jeans but it didn’t tarnish when a girl is killed for speaking her mind. The burden of culture is only on girls and men are leeway to kill all the Neha who will go against male’s countermand.

 The irony is these are the aeons ago practised tricks to keep women at men’s thrall. Women in my land are at the receiving end of violence and these types of heart-wrenching stories in the newspaper are common affairs. 

For how long the nation will be in the miasma of ill disposition. Now it’s time things need to be change. Give those millions of Neha the rights to live their life in their way. Give them their sky to fly. And the nicest thing is in this way, we will empower our culture and tradition and we will evolve as a much powerful society.