For real.

There have been so many women-centric posts on all these social networking websites lately, with no new content. Posts thrashing Honey Singh's songs, 'don't tell me what to wear, teach your boys not to stare', and so on.

Hell, I have written so much about it, I should've gotten tired. But just when I think 'no more woman empowerment,' a friend posts a link on my Facebook Timeline. Given our history, I know it's something to do with women, or women empowerment, or the opposite of women empowerment. Aaand I was so right.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrulla/a-militant-hindu-camp-in-india-is-training-young-women-to-ha

Since my parents are constantly warning me about the false information on the Internet, I didn’t believe the headline of the article that read “A Militant Hindu Camp In India Is Training Young Women To Hate Themselves And Accept Their Weakness”.

The Durga Vahini is the militant camp in question here. It is the women’s wing of a Hindu nationalist organisation in India – the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). I have only heard of the VHP in heated discussions between my father and grandfather. The name is self explanatory, but only to a certain extent. 

What exactly does it do? Why was it established? What is its significance today?

Google uncle gave me the address to its very own official website. The slogan that greeted me was “Unite Hindus – Save Humanity”. No, really.

The Hindus are a small group of a mere 900 million people, compared to a massive 2.1 billion Christians, and 1.5 billion Muslims, world round. This statistical data does make the intentions of establishing the VHP clear – to save Hinduism. 

Coming to the slogan. Google defines humanity as “human beings collectively,” and as “the quality of being humane; benevolence,” (the former being the relevant one here) and gives “mankind, the human race, the human species” as its synonyms. Like I said, the Hindus are a group, regardless of their size compared to other similar groups. If humanity is the entirety of the human race, how does one unite Hindus and save all of humanity?

Okay, wo sab jane do. Let's talk about the article.

For those shameless people who are reading this post without going through the actual article, there is an attached video, a clip from the documentary 'The World Before Her'. WATCH IT.

The woman in the video, Aparna Ramtirthakar, who calls herself a social worker, talks to the girls from the camp about their "duties as a woman". What she says in the video is outrageous I did not want to believe it.

So I went ahead and asked Google uncle again. And being the encyclopedia that he is, I got several YouTube links to her speeches. I opened 'Ekatra Kutumba Paddhati ani Muli'. It's a two-hour-long speech given on a Parshuram Jayanti. By 56.40, the damn thing had my jaw on the ground and it wouldn't get back up. 

You can guess from her surname that she is from a Brahmin family. And let me tell you, she won't stop talking about it. I don't know about you, but I was shocked to see her fanaticism. I'd call it madness. But then again, I wouldn't be the first one.

At 31.23, she says women have to accept the weakness that nature gave them.

At 35.30, she has a problem with women, Brahmin women in particular, not wearing sarees at home and being clad in comfortable cotton gowns in summers. "Why do women need comfort?" apparently.

At 47.32, this female goes ahead and says "we (as in women) accept male dominance. In fact, we need male dominance. Because otherwise, women will not be well-mannered and will not carry themselves well."

The last straw was when she actually said "mulinna japaa, kaaran sonyasathi chindhi la japaava laagta," which  roughly translates to "save the girl child for the boy child". Sona is gold, referred to the boy child here, and chindhi, or waste, the girl child.

I was rendered speechless, and NOT in the good way. This sounds very extremist and I'm pretty sure my grandfather would disown me for saying this - never before this evening, had I felt so much as a teeny tiny bit of shame about being born into whatever religion and caste that I am.

I know some of you out there who will want me to apologise. Not happening. Some of you might even seriously consider unfriending me. Please do.

There are certain things that biologically differentiate men from women. But just because a woman has a vagina and a uterus, she is not a child producing factory. Just because a woman has breasts and hips, men are not entitled to stare and grope and rape.

So many people, including myself, have said this very thing, so many times. And yet, I do not see parents taking any efforts at all, to bring to their sons' and daughters' notice how crucial all this is for them to know. I know society does not change overnight, lekin sala try to karo na?

There are small things that they need to be taught when they're old enough to understand. But if you don't even try to explain stuff like why not to sing Honey Singh's songs on a street where there is 'respectable' female crowd, then you don't get to complain about the falling standards of society in our country. Okay?

Women do not 'need' male dominance. Or the other way round, either. Men and women 'need' each other.

PS This post is going to start a war, I know it. You are entitled to have an opinion, and so am I. Don't try to force yours on me, or I will thrash you. To each their own, n'est-ce pas?