The Time for Silence Is Over

How many more women need to be attacked before we stop asking women to “be careful”?

How many more daughters need to disappear before safety becomes a responsibility shared by society—not a rulebook handed to women?

Across India, from Delhi to Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and beyond, disturbing cases of violence against women and girls continue to make headlines. The details may change, the cities may change, and the circumstances may change—but the underlying question remains the same: Why are women still expected to adjust to violence instead of society being transformed to prevent it?

We have become frighteningly accustomed to saying, “Another case has happened.” We discuss it for a few days. We demand justice. We express anger. And then we move on.

We cannot keep moving on. This is not only a policing problem. It is not only a judicial problem. It is a social and psychological problem that demands a fundamental change in the way we raise children, treat women, understand consent and respond to violence. We need to stop teaching girls that safety means shrinking their lives. Don’t stay out late. Don’t travel alone. Don’t trust strangers. Don’t dress a certain way. Don’t speak too loudly.

What are we teaching boys? That conversation is where change begins. We must raise boys who understand that strength is not domination, masculinity is not entitlement, and “no” is not an invitation to negotiate. We must raise girls who know that their bodies, choices, voices, and ambitions belong to them. And institutions must match that cultural change with action: faster investigations, accountable policing, effective prosecution, safer public spaces and consequences that cannot be negotiated away.

Women do not need another campaign asking them to be more cautious.

We need a society courageous enough to become more conscious.

This is not a women’s issue.

It is a human issue.

And change cannot wait for the next headline.

It has to begin now.

Written by Maanya Kohli, one of India’s most trusted Tarot readers and founder of Lady of Tarot.