Women treated as toys?
We all are aware of the recent deaths of women caused by dowry. Is it something new? Absolutely not. Women have been treated as objects for centuries. What is their fault when they are physically harassed, abused, and treated as subordinate to men? This discrimination is not recent; women have been suffering silently for a very long time.
And do you know why many women do not raise their voices? Sometimes it is for the sake of maintaining relationships, sometimes to protect their children, and sometimes because society teaches them to stay silent and “adjust.” But has anyone ever stopped to ask what a woman herself wants? Has she ever truly lived for herself?
Look at your mother. Do you ever think about how much she sacrifices every single day? Most mothers barely take out time for themselves. They wake up before everyone else, sleep after everyone else, carry the burden of the entire family on their shoulders, yet their efforts are often ignored. A woman spends her whole life giving love, care, and support, but in return, she is expected to tolerate pain silently.
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Why is a woman’s worth still measured by dowry, obedience, or sacrifice? Why does society question her character, her clothes, her choices, but rarely question the men who hurt her? A woman is not a burden, not a machine, and certainly not a toy made for others’ happiness. She is a human being with dreams, emotions, ambitions, and the right to live with dignity and respect.
Every dowry death is not just a “case” or a “headline”; it is the destruction of someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s mother. Behind every such death is a woman who once had dreams for her future. It is heartbreaking that even today, women are forced to choose silence over safety because society often blames the victim instead of the oppressor.
This patriarchal mindset needs to change. Respect for women should not only exist in speeches, festivals, or social media posts. It should exist inside homes, in daily actions, in the way daughters are raised, and in the way sons are taught to value women as equals. A society that cannot protect and respect its women can never truly call itself progressive.
Women are not toys to be controlled. They are the strength of every family and the backbone of society. They deserve freedom, safety, love, and above all, respect.
