Published via Ecency

I saw this week’s theme and it sat heavy on me.Stay with me ....

"Does clothing cause bad intentions, or is it a reflection of one's mindset? If clothing is the reason, why are children—both girls and boys—also victims?"

I’ll be straight. I don’t buy the clothing argument.

Look, I remember when I was in school. We had this rule about "proper uniform". And still, we heard stories. About little kids. About women in full sarees going to temple. About boys too.

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If a 6 year old in a frock or a 9 year old boy in shorts becomes a victim... what were they "provoking"? Tell me. There’s nothing to say there.

And it’s not just about city or village either. I’ve seen news from places where women only wear traditional clothes. And it still happens. I’ve seen it happen inside homes. Inside schools. Places that are supposed to be safe.

So if the clothes are the same but the places are different, then the problem isn’t the cloth na?

Now don’t get me wrong. I decent clothes. I love wearing a bubu gown for weddings. I love a akwaete on festivals. "AkwaeteOcha" was something my dadi always said too 😅 And there’s nothing wrong with dressing for culture, for respect, for yourself.

But we have to stop mixing those two things. Culture is one thing. Safety is another.

When we say "she shouldn’t have worn that", we are quietly telling the person who did wrong that it’s not fully their fault. And that’s where we go wrong.

The real issue is what we teach. At home. In school. With friends.
Do we teach boys to respect "no"?
Do we teach girls that their voice matters?
Do we stay quiet because "yeh ghar ki baat hai"?

Clothes are just clothes. Cotton, silk, jeans, saree. They don’t think. People do.