Why Is Freedom Still Denied to Midnight Children Girl

In article, “Why is freedom still denied to midnights girl children” author Rupa Sengupta describes the dilemma that Indian women are facing even after 60 years of independence. Sengupta takes the horrified incident that takes place in Delhi, a (crime) capital of India to describe the rapes, molestation or sexual assault face by thousand of Indian women. Nirbhaya, who was beaten and gang raped on 16th of December has brought number of serious societal and gender issues to the fore in India. The main reasons for such a rigorous crime are gender bias, fearlessness towards law and education. Gender bias is a big issue in India.

Gender bias is so deeply ingrained in the system that discrimination starts before couple plans a baby. This is shown when author states, “But, barring some barbaric places, the world over it isn’t social custom for girls to be killed even before they’re born”(2). Extremely high levels of gender discrimination against females have been reported in the provision of health care, nutrition, education and resource allocation in northern and western states of India. For instance, the natural biological laws of human reproduction of mankind for balancing its natural sex ratio, has been distorted by man-made norms, customs, traditions, religious beliefs and more recently by sophisticated medical technology to result lower sex ratio in India.

Sengupta states that “Surely freedom means nothing if, despite their shared humanity, women are thought inferior to men, and so coerced to serve them in the flesh or be stripped, whipped and worse”. It shows about the male chauvinism in the Indian society. In this article, Sengupta describes every girl of nation as a midnight children. What are you doing at night? That’s what the accuse asked Nirbhaya before rapping her. That’s where sengupta makes a point that India got a freedom on midnight of 1947, and even after 65 year of independence, women are not allowed to go outside at night.

Here Sengupta also want to make a point on the mindset of the people. What people think when they see a lonely girl in night? Mindset of people, that is need to be change and that can only be done by providing a strong education system. “One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.”

This shows when author states that “Nirbhaya’s refusal of victimhood in her darkest hours teaches what we always knew: that human dignity is inalienable and the human spirit indomitable”. Accuse may have rape the body of Nirbhaya but they cannot take the dignity from her. May be women in India don’t have the outside freedom, but they have the inner freedom that no one can take from them. “It’s better to die fighting for freedom than to live life in chains”.