Violence is a general violation of the fundamental rights of all human beings; the right to life, to security, to dignity, and to protection from physical and mental harm. Violence against women is endemic in our society. Despite the growing numbers of women joining politics, though women like Angela Merkel are taking the lead nowadays, Mauritius is still lagging behind in some ways. Some people are still clinging to their outdated beliefs and the concept of patriarchy is still present.

Domestic violence has always been a question of power, of the need to dominate and control. But now, it?s sad to note that most of us do not face it, this social phenomenon is taking a more serious and lethal form. It is leading to murder directly. Long ago, men were thrashing their spouse to death whereas now they?re adopting other more cruel means such as strangulation, stabbing with knives, shooting with a pistol and so on. Today, men seem bent on committing heinous acts. It?s as if killing and torturing women give them a unique sense of pleasure. Let?s take the sad mishap which occurred to Taramatee, for instance. Spraying a woman with acid? God! What?s wrong with people nowadays? Their moral values seem to be declining sharply and, even worse, they seem to be dissipating.

Today we are facing such a situation whereby our newspapers publish at least one case of domestic violence daily. How come? We can?t keep going on like this. We can?t tolerate domestic violence in a country where perpetual development is being done in terms of living conditions and, on top of that, which is advocating the ?Emancipation Of Women.? Mauritius, once applauded for its peaceful environment, is now constantly plagued by criminal and inimical acts. All the religions of the world teach us that ?LIFE IS SACRED? and the bible says ?Thou Shall Not Kill.? Is religion losing its prominent value in our life? One question intrigues me. How can man kill his dear and beloved ones with his own hand? How can he smear his hand with the blood of his kith and kin? Is life problematic or frustrating to such an extent? Or are people like Yessudass losing their mental balance? Well if men want to prove their dominating power, let me tell them one thing, ?please choose people who share the same strength as you. Only then will you realize how strong and brave you are. But spare woman because you already know that she is not as strong as you physically. Women are human beings and all human beings have their rights and dignity.

While reading of the past few monstrous incidents which have occurred in our society and which are, indeed, creating a commotion among women, I am tempted to believe that there are two main factors leading to the proliferation of this problem. Women and the police! Yes, women themselves are responsible for their miseries. This horrifying situation is worsened by the bitter fact that battered women fear or are reluctant to disclose their painful situation despite having multifarious agencies working for the ? Betterment Of Women? at their disposal. They don?t dare to come forward and expose the bad deeds of their husbands. I believe it?s more a question of fear rather than shame. They know that as soon as they report their problems to the police, tension will only escalate at home. For example, Nisha did complain, several times, about her husband beating her. But according to the statements of her relatives, the police did nothing, about her complaints. The police can?t exonerate itself. The case of Nisha has revealed a truth which plausibly most of us have been trying to avoid for a long time. It?s undeniable that there is a sort of laxity on the part of our police force. So now we are getting a better understanding why women don?t report cases of domestic violence. But they should neither be afraid nor lose hope. They should absolutely contact any agency which is ready to help them. Women who choose to remain silent and bear the cruelty of their husbands are no less mad than the perpetrators of the violence.

Come on people, this is not American movies. This is reality. Women should be made aware of their worth and should be encouraged at all costs to come forward and reveal the true characters of their husbands. These criminal and deleterious acts which have made the headlines for the past few weeks are wake-up calls for all of us. Criminals like Yessudass Veeranah are not the products of the environment but, on the contrary, they are the products of the reticent nature of woman. It?s high time that women stop being diffident. Since the advent of the new government, we?ve been hearing the ministers constantly asserting that ?They Will Put People First,? which is a good start. But I would go even further saying that ?We Should Put Women First.? The government should see to it that the police carry out their duties accordingly. Questions like ?how come a policeman has assassinated his wife mercilessly or how come highly educated persons like Yessudass are resorting to murderous acts? should be raised and studied. How to restore the moral values of or sensibilize such dangerous citizens? All this is to be analysed collectively by the government.

Woman has always suffered. She has had to endure social inequality and bear the whims of men. She has been the slave of men and now she is perceived as a victim of mens? muscles. But now, enough is enough. Now she should be made to realize that she deserves better treatment. Security and safety must be guaranteed to her once she has reported a case. To end, let me remind you of a few lines from a quotation which Abraham Lincoln once wrote about women;

?The woman was not taken

From Adam?s head, we know,

To show she must not rule him-

Tis evidently so.

The woman she was taken

From under Adam?s arm

So she must be protected,

From injuries and harm.?

Women are meant to be the companions of men not the prey of men?s cruel and filthy murderous instincts.

<B>Youshrina Mungur</B>