A Male child is not a privilege anymore – Mom to be Anushka’s hard hitting note on the recent UP Gang rapes

In the backdrop of the recent two inhuman acts of gangrape of a 19-year-old girl in Hathras, and a 22-year-old Dalit woman in Balrampur, both in the state of Uttar Pradesh, celebrity and mom-to-be Anushka Sharma has reminded the Indian society very strongly about the perceived ‘privilege’ of having a male child and the ‘duty’ of a parent in society. Anushka expressed disappointment over the largely prevalent thought process that having a male child is still seen as a ‘privilege’ in India via her Instagram story. She further clarified this misconception, stating that this perceived privilege is viewed incorrectly and with an extremely myopic vision and this privilege was not higher than having a female child. She quickly went on to correct this age-old thought process stating that having a male child would be considered a privilege only when he is brought up to respect a girl, and it is the duty of all parents towards society to do so. She signed off reiterating that the gender of the child doesn’t make a family privileged, and it is the responsibility that all families owe to society to raise a male child in such a way that women always feel safe and protected.

Women continue to be raped in so-called ‘contemporary India,’ and the number of rape cases is rising daily. A rapist mentality is definitely at the forefront of such heinous acts, but it is also because India still largely has a patriarchal mindset. Even in present-day India, there is deep-rooted, unconscious happiness about a ‘male-child’ born in the family rather than a female child. All privileges are extended to this male child in the house, and the female child is still perceived as the inferior sex. This kind of upbringing has a two-pronged negative effect; the male child always feels that all women, be it from their own family or outside, are beneath him and will always feel superior to them. Secondly, this thought process, subconsciously, also leads them to exploit women the way they want to and is a cause of rapes in India.

Hence, parents need to teach the male child the importance of women, and they should never incept this seed of man-woman comparison in his mind. It should be considered a critical duty of parents to teach the male child from a very young age the correct way a girl or woman should be treated, and there should only be respect and dignity towards all women by the male. Only through this conscious change in thought process can such brutal acts of rape and murder be eventually culled, and women can live in this country without any fear.

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