Shalini Chandra
Head Mistress, Junior School, Study Hall

The Nirbhaya tragedy has brought our girls and women into focus for all the wrong reasons ..”Give freedom to the girls to dress the way they want and go where they wish to and this is what will happen!”—-proclaim the fundamentalists .The so called progressive groups on the other hand are crying themselves hoarse demanding freedom for girls .I feel that if we really want to learn a lesson from this horrific crime , then we should all be asking just one question—how are we raising our boys?

We have to seriously rethink about our notions of ‘manly’ and ‘macho’ and stop accepting eve teasing and other obscene behaviour patterns in boys as ‘normal’ and ‘healthy’ .We should also take care that in the name of ‘Sanskaar’ , we must not teach them to treat girls as weak , insecure and needing protection .Parents don’t have to do things consciously to raise a boy well but following certain unwritten rules will go a long way in ensuring a healthy growth .A mother’s voice should never be stifled and she should have an equal say in the boy’s upbringing .Children of both sexes MUST play  and if possible , study together .Only then will the boys realise that the girls are equally capable , intelligent and fun to be with and not objects of desire .Parents and teachers have to watch their own language and behaviour carefully .Regular monitoring and counselling of teenaged boys will prevent them from succumbing to peer pressure .It sounds like a lot of effort but actually it requires just a change of our mindset . As a mother I appeal to all parents of boys to please give this a thought ?