12. Beyond Patriarchy

It was the usual college day, when Alwin found himself being followed by Myreah on his way to home. So, he stopped for seconds and checked whether his hair was parted correctly or not so that it doesn’t give a wrong signal to the girls. Then, he pulled his shirt downwards thinking that it could be the reason for the ill-behavior of Myreah. Satisfied by his appearance, he rushed towards his home. He had seen that girl stalking him for a week. The next day, Myreah stopped and threatened him by saying, “Don’t wear such dresses and move around. Jeans-shirt and such dresses are made only for us, not for the male folk. I don’t want to see you tomorrow in such a dress.” Alwin didn’t speak anything, but on the whole way back, he kept thinking, “Why am I born a boy? And when will the day come when I’ll put on any dress and move freely on the road anytime?”

Again on the next day, he couldn’t save himself from the lusty gaze of Myreah. She caught him by his hand and said, “You didn’t follow my instructions. So, now you will have to pay for it.” As he said these words, she started molesting him. Alwin saw a policewoman Kaity, expecting her to be a ray of hope and asked for help. She came and bribed him in exchange of giving help. Alwin rejected as he didn’t have any money left with him.

Kaity then gave a helping hand to Myreah and insulted Alwin. Alwin tried to protect himself and he also cried for help. No one came to help him because it was late evening and the road was very quiet. Kaity gave a demonic laughter at the pitiful Alwin and said,” No one is here to save you. You can’t do anything, you are a boy. Nothing will harm us. Rather, your honour is at stake. So, don’t shout.” Alwin was thinking woefully,” If I had been a girl, I wouldn’t have faced so much.”

When Alwin was trying to save himself, his head accidentally struck a tree trunk and his head started bleeding so heavily that he lost his life. Both, Myreah and Kaity ran away from that place. Luckily, two friends who were passing by found Alwin’s body and reported it to the police station. The police arrived soon and tracked the CCTV camera footage, which was the only way to find the culprit. It was evident who the culprits were, but the government didn’t pay any heed to nab them. Instead, the government advised the boys and men to wear decent clothes and not step out after evening.

The tragedy sent Alwin’s parents in deep shock and they regretted bringing up a male child in a female-dominated society. At least, the child would have been alive!

Nitisha

I Year