Archive · 15 Aug 2026
80 Years of Independence, Yet Women Remain Chained and Smirked
India is celebrating 80 years of being a free country.
Many people feel proud and happy about this.
But one writer points out something important that has not changed: how women are treated.
Even though India is free, women are still insulted, hurt, and disrespected in public and at home.
People make comments about what women wear, how they look, and their age.
If a woman complains, she may be told not to take things so seriously.
Sometimes leaders just smile when a woman is treated badly.
The writer says new laws are not enough — families must change how they raise boys and girls.
Boys should learn to say 'stop' when someone is mean to a woman.
Everyone should stop laughing along and speak up for women instead.
India is commemorating its 80th Independence Day amid waves of national pride and patriotic celebrations.
The article contends that even in free India, women — 50 per cent of the population — are still abused, insulted, and manhandled in private and in public.
It argues abuse persists because traditional power structures, discriminatory customs, and economic inequalities take longer to change than laws on paper.
In public, women face comments on their clothes, physique, and age, while politicians sometimes stand silent or smirk when a woman is abused.
The author calls for change to start at home — raising boys who say 'stop' and shaming the smirk — saying no law, reform, or quota alone can stop the abuse.
- Who
- Women in India, whom the article says are treated as second-class citizens; politicians, families, and society are also discussed.
- What
- An opinion article arguing that 80 years after independence, women in India are still abused, insulted, and manhandled, and calling for a change in social mindsets.
- When
- August 2026, around the celebration of the 80th Independence Day.
- Where
- India.
- Why
- Because deep-seated social mindsets, male chauvinism, and discriminatory customs persist, and abusers currently face little social, political, or legal cost.
Reform and reservation approach
Mindset and upbringing approach
Path to women's equality
Reform and reservation approach
Reservations can secure seats and reforms can make laws that improve women's position.
Mindset and upbringing approach
Laws and quotas cannot stop a man from smirking when a woman is abused; only changing biased mindsets through family upbringing can.
Where responsibility lies
Reform and reservation approach
Politicians who stand as mute spectators or smirk after a woman is abused send the message that abuse involves no cost.
Mindset and upbringing approach
The change must start at home, where boys learn from fathers and mothers how to treat and respect women.
- Country
- India
- Occasion
- 80th Independence Day
- Women's share of population
- 50 per cent
- Core claim
- Women still treated as second-class citizens in free India
- Cited causes
- Traditional power structures, discriminatory customs, economic inequalities
- Dismissals quoted in article
- "Adjust kar lo", "ghar sambhalo pehle", "behenji itna serious mat lo"
- Proposed solution
- Change must start at home; raise boys who say "stop"; shame the smirk
- Historical reference
- Draupadi's dignity reduced to a spectacle; waiting for a Krishna to appear