There is a growing sense of uncertainty of life as each day passes by due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Many countries are in lockdown. This could have been a time to gel well with partners and bond with them. Unfortunately, there is a wave of surging domestic violence against women not just in the developing countries but the so-called developed countries.
The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Guterres has decried ‘horrifying rise in domestic violence.’ He urged all governments to make the prevention and redress of violence a key part of their national response plans for COVID-19. Whether it is the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Lebanon or India, the story is the same. Some men have turned brutes and see the lockdown as an opportunity to subjugate women and inflict violence.
In India, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has been receiving distress calls and the calls have doubled in the last week. Social activist Brinda Adige has pointed out the ghastly tales of domestic violence which baffles human behaviour. In one particular case, a wife was beaten when she objected to her husband watching p*rn in the presence of little children. What values is the father passing on to his children?
Men should learn to spend quality time with their partners and children. Even animals seem to understand ‘quality time.’ Recently, there was a report from a zoo in Hong Kong where the pandas, which are shy to mate in the presence of humans are making up for the lost time – a decade in captivity. They are making love but men are busy making war. One never knows when the deadly Coronavirus can strike a family with fatal consequences.
Police cannot enter each and every dispute when they have to enforce the lockdown. It is time to be fair and respectful again to women before it is too late. We should be a worthy part of human civilization.
