Where is our "manliness"?

It has been raining in Chennai since last night, which is a surprise even in the winter season in these parts.The past day carried a gloomy demeanor with no sunshine for the whole day,which is an equal surprise.Who knew it bore the omen of the sad tidings to come! As part of my morning ritual,I was browsing through the morning newspaper,and then the cold irony of nature struck me.The headlines read that the brave girl who who was violated and tortured by a gang of vile men,had died due to Cerebral edema in the Mount Elizabeth Hospital,Singapore.I reacted to the news with mixed feelings;I was grief-stricken that she couldn't survive, of which I had a premonition,considering the extensive damage to her body but also,slightly happy that her terrible ordeal was over.After all,a body can endure only to a certain extent. However,I admire the girl for her indomitable spirit that kept her alive till this day even as her vitals continued to deteriorate and betray her will! She was more 'man' in her death bed than those inhuman perpetrators of the horrendous act who brought this down upon her.She wanted to live,even in this critical condition,at least that's what the newspapers reported,and that says a lot about her fighting human spirit.That's what made me root for her,even though I knew that even if she did make it,she would never have a normal life and will be forever ordained to a life on machine support.
In the wake of recent events,there has been a lot of clamor for meting out extreme forms of punishment to the perpetrators for their heinous act. But what must not be overlooked in the din is that instant gratification to the public's demands can't be a permanent solution to this problem. The Government needs to frame comprehensive legislation in this regard that will act as a penal deterrence for such inhuman acts in the future.It is good to hear that steps in this regard have been initiated with the constitution of a committee that will look into the matter.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, rape cases have gone up 791% since 1972 when such cases started getting reported. From 2,487 rape cases registered in 1972, the figure has touched 22,172 in 2010.It is very unfortunate that while we lament such incidents happening in the metros,a lot of such incidents happen in the remote places that go unnoticed.The media should highlight such incidents with equal vigour irrespective of it happening in a metro like Delhi or any other part of the country.
As a nation,we must introspect as to how can we contribute towards making our streets safer for our mothers,wives and sisters.Social silence will only act as an encouragement for such offenders.As India is marching towards development,more and more women are working at all hours.Keeping them hidden behind closed doors isn't the solution.As a society,we need to evolve from a male-dominated society to a balanced society where both man and woman enjoy equal rights.The traditional societal notions has to be discarded.
As a man,it is our duty to protect woman from harm.But as things are,evil-minded man are blatantly carrying out atrocities on woman.This has to be stopped outright.Man must uphold his manhood qualities for which they stand.Otherwise,the word 'man' will no more be 'man'!