Don’t raise attackers in the pretence of raising sons!
Women constitute an important part of our society. Every woman has her own job or duty in this modern society in which men are unfortunately the “strongest gender”, we can’t forget that a woman’s life is more complicated than a man’s life. A woman has to take care of her own personal life & if she is a mother, she has to take care also of her children’s lives too. Worse still, if she is married, additional stress can be on her shoulders. Yet they still perform very well in the work environment in some cases better than their male counterparts. They are responsible for giving birth to a life but unfortunately, they are made to lose their lives in name of different brutalities committed against them. Whenever a womandecides to raise her voice against her sub stranded position in the patriarchal society, she is shunned by different means; either by acid, physical abuse or by burning her to death. Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination overand discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women. Acid violence is a heinous crime committed usually against women, with an intention to disfigure or kill her. An acid attack involves premeditated throwing of acid on a victim usually on her face. It can also be called as the gender based violence. According to National commission of India acid attack is “any act of throwing acid or using acid in any form on the victim with the intention of or with knowledge that such person is likely to cause to the other person permanent or partial damage or deformity or disfiguration to any part of the body of such person”. A study revealed that 78% of the reported acid attack cases is for rejection of proposals or spurned sexual advances.“Acid attack on young women” is some of the headlines that are appearing in the daily newspaper. Acid attack on women is increasing day by day. The easy availability of inexpensive acid makes the perpetrators to use it as an ideal weapon against the women. The most common types of acid include sulphuric, nitric and hydrochloric acid. India tragically tops the global charts when it comes to acid attacks targeting women. Despite stricter laws and harsher punishments, the number of such attacks continues to increase on the subcontinent.
We don’t have any right to destroy anyone’s life. A very basic point needs to be understood that it is a girl’s choice to do whatever she wants and no one has the right to question it because it’s equivalent to questioning her integrity.
At least one acid attack is perpetrated every day. Nowadays our Kashmir is also making headlines in terms of acid attacks. We are also facing same causes of these attacks that is rejection of proposals. Love is a powerful weapon, it can compel to do anything, but the same love teaches us compassion and sacrifice. Love is a way to experience heaven on Earth, the eternal bliss! But it doesn’t make us a monster from hell. He went out with a well plotted plan to destroy her that day. Not with a touch, not with a stab but something more gruesome, something that would leave her unrecognisable. He did blemish her appearance, but he couldn’t dim the sparkle she had. Just to satisfy his so called “Male-Ego”, he disfigured her beauty. Both girls and boys are having right to say “NO”, then why are we having so much of acid attacks. We need to move on that, both the genders can work on their dreams and achieve their goals. We don’t have any right to destroy anyone’s life. A very basic point needs to be understood that it is a girl’s choice to do whatever she wants and no one has the right to question it because it’s equivalent to questioning her integrity. Pampering our child is okay but don’t let them get used to have everything. Dear youngsters! Please be aware of yourself. If a girl said NO to you, she isn’t going to love you, even if you forcefully extract, how long will she be able to act? Acid attack has never proven any great Macho man! It will only show you are not able…… So grow up. I conclude with few lines;
Filth is all around, where to go,
It will destroy you and won’t even know
Rejection is not a choice nowadays
Say “NO” & you will be gifted with acid Sprays
The price is too heavy to pay,
Why “NO” is hard to say
An acid bottle, with a glass in hand,
And spoiling her life as well planned
As she came, he threw the acid on her face,
It is really horrific the next story of this Case
She completely lost the eyesight of her eyes,
Her burnt face was forcing her to die
She was struggling with herself, every single second,
Everything in her eyes was just dark & Blackened
He thought burning her beauty will make her inside four walls,
If the queen has passion, dear the Crown never falls.
(The author a resident of lolab, kupwaraand pursuing Integrated PG zoology at Islamia college of science & commerce, Srinagar. Views are his own)
World Cancer Day: Closing the Care Gap
Dr. Manohar Agnani
This year, the theme of ‘World Cancer Day’ which is on 4th February, is ‘Close the Care Gap’. The mere mention of the word ‘cancer’ sends a shiver down the spine. In such a situation, the state of minds of people suffering from cancer and those taking care of cancer patients is indescribable. If there are ‘gaps’ in the various stages of cancer care, such as in diagnosis, surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and palliative care, then the enhanced despair become unimaginable. In this context, this year’s theme is relevant, as it will take a long time for any health system to completely live up to the ideal standards of care. There may be a dearth of medical facilities at times or treatment may be too expensive. At times, cancer risk factors in people’s lifestyles and environments may be excessive, and the general public’s “health-seeking behavior” may be a challenge also. There is also a great need for provision of palliative care for cancer patients in the terminal stage. In effect, there are gaps in expectations and real situations at every stage of cancer care. At times more, at times less. In this context, it is relevant to mention the National Health Policy (2017), Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC), Pradhan Mantri- Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), Pradhan Mantri- Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) and the special efforts being made in the field of cancer. AB – HWCisa well thought out strategy by the Government of India to ensure comprehensive primary healthcare. Our Honorable Prime Minister has given an ambitious target of converting all the Sub-Health Centres and Primary Health Centres in the country to Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs).Today,there are more than 89,000 HWCsin the country through which preventive, promotive and comprehensive primary healthcare is being provided. ASHAs and ANMs visit door-to-door to identify early symptoms in people above 30 years of age for five major diseases namely hypertension, diabetes and oral, breast and cervical cancer and share information on lifestyle changes to prevent cancer. In effect, it can be said that a tremendous effort is being made to close the gaps at the initial stage of cancer care, which is also showing positive results. Efforts are also being made in the country to prevent and control the major causes of cancer through the National Program for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardio-vascular diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS). The objective of this program is to spread public awareness about cancer, encourage people to improve their lifestyle and set-up Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) clinics in Community Health Centres and District Hospitals. By expanding the services of CT-Scan, MRI, Mammography and Histopathology in district hospitals, the gap in early detection of cancer is also being bridged.
Lifestyle changes like eating a balanced diet, practicing yoga and exercise, eschewing consumption of tobacco and alcohol will go a long way in achieving this objective. Such efforts will not only save them from chances of cancer, but will also help preserve quality and timely services for needy cancer patients and in turn help in truly realizing this year’s theme of ‘Close the Care Gap’. Jai Hind!
Through ‘Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana’, cashless health services are being provided to a large section of the population in selected government and private hospitals. Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of setting up new medical colleges in the country and upgradation of district hospitals into medical colleges is also helping strengthen secondary care. Similarly, 22 AIIMS are being set up in the country in a phased manner to expand tertiary care. Grants are also given for setting up State Cancer Institute’s and Tertiary Cancer Care Centres under the “Tertiary Cancer Care Centres Scheme”, which can be used towards diagnosis and treatment of cancer, conducting tests, research, providing palliative care and for participation in cancer registry programs. 700 bedded National Cancer Institute at Jhajjar (Haryana) and 460 bed Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute in Kolkata have also been started. All these initiatives are proving useful in closing the gap in the areas of surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy etc. in cancer care. I think the actions being taken in the country to control cancer are historic. While there will always be scope for improvement in these initiatives, a huge responsibility also lies with the people of the country, specially the youth, to adopt lifestyles in a manner that the possibility of getting cancer is reduced to the minimum. Lifestyle changes like eating a balanced diet, practicing yoga and exercise, eschewing consumption of tobacco and alcohol will go a long way in achieving this objective. Such efforts will not only save them from chances of cancer, but will also help preserve quality and timely services for needy cancer patients and in turn help in truly realizing this year’s theme of ‘Close the Care Gap’. Jai Hind!
(Author is Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Press Information Bureau Srinagar has mailed this article to “Kashmir Horizon” for publication in this newspaper. Views are his own)
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