Breaking my silence

"Hang the rapists!"

"Castrate the bastards!"

"Girls must not wear provocative clothes or stay outside at night."

"It's all an effect of westernization. Our Indian values are dying."

"Only the harshest punishment can solve the problem."

It all feels like dark humor to me. As the country continues to endure an unbearable headache, everyone is suggesting the strongest doses of painkillers, ignoring the possibility of a deadly tumor inside. What a shame! Could we for once, as disgusting as it may sound, step into the shoes of a rapist and understand what made him so? I can see clearly so many reasons and am sure that you can come up with many more:

First, our society illogically dismisses a fundamental need of humanity. Sexuality is considered sinful or sacred depending upon the context, but never an obvious urge. Women, with naturally higher self-control and larger obligation of preserving their chastity, mostly accept abstinence. Men, obviously then, become greater victims of the sexual oppression and develop mental aberrations of several kinds.

Second, though our society clarifies its expectations of sexual restriction, it does not show a path. Having taken away the practices of yoga and dhyana from curriculum, how do we expect the men to observe brahmacharya? Is self-control or compassion systematically taught or rewarded in our schools or homes? Or do we have a commonly known fix for the sex hormones?

Third, through our tendency of covering up women, we have objectified them. And so, a few girls in cities who display their shape or skin must seem like desserts amongst a widespread famine. Now, what would be a viable solution? Covering up the desserts, suppressing the appetite, justifying hunger, raising punishment for defaulters or simply accepting that the hunger exists.

Fourth, in most parts of the country women are possessed. Women surrender. Women obey. Boys grow up seeing this in their homes and neighborhood, sometimes even in the most posh localities. Isn't it natural, then, for men to harness this inclination to own a woman or defile her if she revolts?

Fifth, it's in men's nature to openly explore their sexuality (unlike most women). The film industry, print media, television and internet all cater to a grave and unmet need in the country, thereby intensifying it much further. A lot of men who haven't yet turned rapists have at some point groped a passing girl, touched private parts of unconscious acquaintances, rubbed themselves against women in traffic and indulged themselves that unintended show of tender skin. I have heard and seen so many instances around me. Haven't you?

Let's drop all our previous conditioning and think impartially for a moment - if a problem is so widespread, can it be an individual's fault and can it be cured just by fixing the offenders. When a man has gone mad in his lust, he is blinded by everything else. Isn't it foolishness to expect that the crime that most commonly arises out of a subconscious dearth can be contained by punishment?

Don't get me wrong. I am not justifying rapes by any means - I am a girl myself! I am just looking at the issue objectively and logically. I am just saying that you and I, given the DNA and life experiences of a rapist would have been exactly like him. The problem is very deep and widespread, and requires a more holistic solution. Perhaps encouraging self-reflection, compassion or open-minded spirituality in the society? Whole-hearted acceptance of body's sexual needs? Effective dissemination of techniques for self-abstinence? Eradication of violence and sex from media? May be a combination of all or something totally different? I am no moral police. This is just my attempt to break my silence amongst the mad anger and irrational arguments that I have been witnessing for months.