India is a beautiful country and so are its women. But..

...not all of them are kept well. Not all of them are taken care of. Not all of them are respected and looked after.

Yes, we are educated, we fly high, we aim for the stars and even achieve them. But does that make us safe? And how much percentage of this 'we' group really make up? There are tribal areas, villages, towns, slums and so many places where the woman is not given her right place. And while we are at it, we are ashamed to admit that this happens even in the best of cities.

No, we are not targeting men. But we are targeting those beasts who think they own the world and the woman are made to please him, appease him and belong at his feet.

No we don't. And we are not going to be sorry about it ever. While we have loving fathers, doting grandfathers, adorable brothers and amazing husbands, we also have a side that reflects that the state of women has not changed in India. This post of ours focuses on that side for awareness.

I was born in this free country.

But how free am I or how safe is my body when I go out not in the night but in the day as well.

Some condemn my birth and some prefer killing me instantly

And then I wonder if I am burden of sorts. Am I not a human before being a female? Does my heart not beat the same as yours? Or my life is not precious?

I grow up to be beautiful but also an object to look at

And that becomes my identity. I am supposed to be looked at, judged, advised, made fun of and if that is not enough, I am teased in public and no one feels a beat about it. It is okay they say. 'Chalta hai!'

Some feel the pleasure in breaking me apart and raping

They strip me and show that their masculinity lies only in raping. And that person not necessarily be a stranger. At times it is someone from the family or my husband too. I tolerate and I keep quiet. Because I have been told to do so.

And if that is not enough..

..I am killed or left to succumb to torture repeatedly. Care to know what is the more wondrous thing? The society banishes me rather than the one who has been doing the deed of killing my hopes, my feelings, my innocence and my dignity. My clothes are judges, my hair victimized, my beauty blamed and my independence is wrong for all of this got me raped.

If I am lucky enough, I get married in a family where I give birth to a boy

and a few girls until him.

They tell me no matter what I do..

..and how amazingly I excel in it, my identity will always come from the families I am in. My own name, individuality holds no meaning.

I am strong and respected and worshipped..

...in temples. Beyond that, I am supposed to do everything that I have been told to. By my parents, my husband and my children. I must have no say.

And yet I will hold my head and sing Vande Mataram

Because India is proud of me and no matter what I go through, so must be I.