68. Safety

Safety, a word so simple yet seems unachievable.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, Safety means, “a state in which or a place where you are safe and not in danger or at risk.”

Now my question is, does a place like that exist?

Is any place safe for us?    

Our country, city, society, streets, schools, colleges, even our home, is any of that safe?

In the past few days we have seen so many horrifying cases of girls and women across all ages getting raped. It is scary at times, the realisation that that could have been me, or someone I know. The fact that it made me cry even when I never knew any of these women before made me realise that what would have happened to that person who did know them, who loved them. To go through something so inhuman and painful both physically as well as mentally is beyond terrifying.

We are not safe anywhere. This is the reality of women in our country or maybe all across the world. Safety comes to those privileged few who are males, the others are either lucky or unfortunate. Maybe this is not a fight against a specific gender. This is a fight against the society and the mentally sick people out there who have the ability to even think of raping somebody.

Makes me wonder sometimes, who is at fault, what is to be blamed? Their upbringing, their mental sickness, their values or their whole being. I don’t know what to think or say, I just want to feel safe.

We have to stop celebrating the encounters of the alleged rapists and think about the bigger problem at hand. This does not end the struggle. This is just overshadowing the problem at hand.

I don’t know what would be the end to this. I don’t know who to ask. I just know that I had to write this, I was tired of keeping it in.

Demanding the right to safety.