Reproductive rights:
Why
am I taking up this topic? Because I find politicians discussing this in their
debate, religious heads expressing their opinion and Bills being passed in
favour or against abortion by men who think they know best! Who is left with
the baby, literally? The woman of course and she has no say in the matter? What
do men know about carrying a baby in the womb for 9 months, going through
excruciating labour pains, getting up in the middle of the night to suckle the
baby and keeping your sanity all the while. Then the child gets the name of the
father! Having a baby or not having one, should be the decision of the
woman-especially if it is an unwanted pregnancy out of wedlock, in an unhappy
marriage or due to rape. It is better not to have the baby thus give it a raw
deal after birth. We each need to deal with the abortion issue in our own way,
in the privacy of our own homes, with our family and friends…Since it is the
woman’s body which has to go through the travails of motherhood, it is her
decision to make. ‘It is my body, my choice’-but that also means a woman must
not knowingly and willingly get into a situation where she has to handle an
unwanted pregnancy and abort the child. That is murder. A woman’s true sign of
empowerment is when she has reproductive rights.
Riches:
Heard
of the poor little rich woman whose bank account was full, but her heart was
empty? That seems to be the case with many women I have met. They have
chauffeur driven cars, designer clothes and chunky jewelry. But there is no
sparkle in their eyes. Why do we relate ‘richness’ to money? If we move away
from the definition, then we are surrounded by riches-of our culture,
tradition, heritage, Natural resources, human resources, talent, diversity…the
list is endless. All we need to do is count the blessings we have and realize
how wealthy we are. Today, we have many avaricious people who would like to get
rich overnight and have contributed to the increasing volume of corruption and
fall in moral and ethical values. In the long run, the one who is really
enriched is the one who associates ‘riches’ with peace of mind and sound sleep.
I am a rich woman.
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Road rage:
A comprehensive study of road safety
found that human error was the sole cause in 57% of all accidents and was a
contributing fact in over 90%. In contrast, only 2.4% were due solely to
mechanical fault and only 4.7% were caused only by environmental factors. I quote this
information. And it makes me angry. When you are at the wheel, you have no
business to be thinking of anything other than the road, its rules and your
driving. Long ago, I realized I did not have this ability and I do not drive.
Ten years ago I founded the Road Accident Victims’ families’ Welfare
Foundation, to provide counseling and legal services to the victims’ families.
It is heartrending to see parents of young people who are killed in road
accidents due to no fault of theirs but of other rash drivers. It is said that
more people die of road accidents than in war as it happens every day. Drunken
drivers must be put behind bars and their license confiscated. Licensing
authorities must ensure they are giving it to the right person and road rules
must be enforced strictly. Rich parents, who gift their children fast cars and
get them off the hook when they violate traffic rules, causing accidents, must
be punished even more severely than the culprits. When someone hits and drives
away, he is cold blooded murderer. At least, stop and reach the victim to the
hospital – he/she may survive. A person’s character is measured by the way
he/she drives. Next time you are behind that wheel, remember that safe driving
is life saving – it may be yours!
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