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Angst

The girl, who had expressed an urge to live despite what she had gone through, is dead. She must have been a strong-willed woman, wanting to live, face the world, restart her life, become a doctor, serve people, have a family, love and be loved. Not many of us would have that kind of strength. Being in that situation, wanting to die would not be considered insane. But she wanted to live...that is what pains me the most. It is only for this reason that out of immense hatred, I am compelled to support the appeal for capital punishment. Those men do not deserve to live, walk on the streets, lead a normal life.

However, will a death sentence put an end to the ongoing epidemic of crime against women? I don't think so. Does that mean we shouldn't do anything for what has already happened? No, we should. But what? I don't have a clear answer to that but it would be something along the line of the famous welsh proverb, "If every man would sweep his own doorstep, the city would soon be clean".

Many of my friends who are married and are on the verge of starting a family have expressed their fear of having a daughter in today's times. Isn't that a defeatist attitude? We cannot protect our women, so let's stop giving birth to them. I would like to ask all those people, what is more challenging? Raising a girl and protecting her modesty or raising a boy who grows up to be gender-sensitized. If you think having a son lessens your headache or responsibility, do you assure us that he wouldn't turn out to be one of those men? Just because voices have been raised for this extreme and heinous crime, it doesn't mean that other lesser degrees of sexual harassment are acceptable or not worth talking about. There are many obedient sons of their mothers who roam on the streets, travel in trains, shop in malls, and don't miss a chance of leering at or groping women. It's high time they stopped doing so. Can you make sure that your sons are not one of them? And, don't you dare ask other people's daughters to cover up or get confined to their homes at dusk just because you would like to believe that you managed to raise ideal sons.

Does the old welsh proverb make more sense now?

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