In one of the more horrifying stories that has hit the news is one about two boys – aged 11 and 14 – who raped a 9 year old girl for fun. Police say that the key influence in their action was the presence of easily availalbe explicit material on television. The kids were all latch key kids – children at home after school, while the parents are out trying to earn enough to make a decent living.
We are becoming an increasingly aspirational society – and with increased aspiration comes increased consumption, and with increased propensity to consume is linked an increased level of imagery – which says buy me. The best way to cut through the clutter is sex and violence, and lots of it.
And sex is not necessarily porn – just look at music videos on Indian television. They seem to legitimise the position of women as sex objects to be shared by men. Videos like Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar, and Pardesi Aa seem to imply that all women want it, and want it bad. The visualisation is of youngish -16 to 18 – year old having fun with sex in general and group sex in particular. Look at the new hoarding for MTV’s item girl hunt – it is a woman wearing a tight blouse and oodles of cleavage – with the legend – it doesn’t get bigger than this – positioned suggestively across her breasts. Women and sex have both been commodified beyond any sense of decency.
The right will be baying for censorship and greater governmental controls. However, I don’t think that the answer lies with government censorship. It lies with media houses to be far more responsible about what they run during daytime. Putting on extrememly suggestive videos aimed at the teen audience is not playing the long term game. It is being extremely shortsighted about business and society. I think that a self imposed watershed needs to come into play as far as television is concerned. And for me what goes on TV is imporatant simply because it is so incredibly accessible.
The other major issue is about parental responsibility and a proper upbringing for children. Having children, I would think, is more than a biologocial and material function. Providing for a better tomorrow is important, but so is the nurturing a sense of values for the same. Somehow the break up of the joint family, and the increased isolation of the nuclear family is leading to a fairly disastrous scenario. We grew up with both my parents working, but the first time I had to use a key to open an empty house was when I was 25. Both my grandmothers were with us. Telling us stories about good and bad. Instilling values without preaching. Somehow, that system seems to be breaking down.
Maybe instead of giving tax breaks on investments, the Government should give tax breaks to people my generation who have their parents staying with them. It may end up being far more than a tax break, it may be an investement in the future of our next generation.
This may have been written long ago but I am going to say this: Where the hell were the parents?
Oh dear lord this is horrible !!
its been truly long,since i saw something sensible written on the internet.nt sure how many ppl will read this,,recently a woman who was visiting her in laws was raped by 7 men,cousin brothers of her husband.she later returned to the same spot where she was raped,and hanged herself.the root of this disease starts within,in one’s mind, in yours and mine.When munni and sheila shamelessly bare all for all,do they realise that while they return to the comfort of their homes,surrounded by bodyguards,hundreds of ordinary women get raped and murdered by sex depraved monsters?and who created these monsters but the same munni and sheila?Women themselves are responsible,maybe not solely,for the RAPE of womanhood.