Star Diary

Not the Weaker Gender

No matter how strongly we demand gender equality in our society, it is yet to translate into reality in our society. Unfortunately, our society doesn't seem to have progressed enough to ensure a safe life for its women. That's why a teenage girl is rebuked when she wants to engage in healthy recreations such as sports or bicycling with friends. On the other hand, boys are allowed to do anything without any fear or restrictions imposed on them. When a boy and a girl commit the same mistake, the fault of the boy is overlooked whereas a girl is beaten up. Our society is still bearing such 'deplorable outlook'. As a result, many young girls suffer from inferiority complex and depression. Moreover, some of them are even becoming entwined with wasteful and unhealthy means for entertainment. We don't want to see such a demoralizing picture in our society. I think young girls need to be rescued by their parents and society from such a downfall. We need their support to prevent girls from having such a depressing idea about life. So that every young girl can say, "I feel honored to be a girl. I don't belong to the weaker gender"
Fariha Tasneem Jessica
Viqarunnisa Noon College
Dhaka

A HERO IN NEED

An exemplary incident happened a few months ago. Two girls were being harassed by a few street hoodlums. Another girl, who was passing by, witnessed this incident. She was a black-belt in karate and instead of running away, she went forward to help. Using her skills in karate, she saved the two girls from the men who fled when she attacked. This news caused a stir in our community – it was featured in the newspaper and brought hope among people. She proved that street crime is preventable if we take the proper steps. Our community is being plagued by street crimes. Street crime here is an everyday matter. Most, if not all, of the people of the community have been victims of these street crimes. The crimes range from eve-teasing, theft, hijacking to harassment. Unfortunately, the police are unable to do much in these situations because the criminals in such cases are great in number and most often, it happens so quickly that there is not enough proof to catch the hoodlums. Women are obviously more vulnerable than men as they are easily frightened and can be overpowered. This is a serious issue and stepping out of the house, especially alone and after dusk has become very risky. This is hampering our daily lives. What the community requires now is a hero who will take the initiative to train people in basic self-defense. I strongly think that if this form of self-defense becomes common among people, then street crimes can be stopped effectively. Hoodlums take advantage of people who cannot defend themselves but if they can, they will have no choice but to stop. This will greatly improve the present state of our community and make the neighborhood a safer place to live in.
Nusrat Jahin Angela
Scholastica, Dhaka