A Few days ago
a headline stayed with me
A sixteen-year-old girl.
A festival night
meant for laughter and light.
Instead, the paper writes
in the cold language of law
Section 70(1)
of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Just a number.
Just a charge.
But somewhere
a girl lost her childhood
between those words…….
I pause,
yet turn the page.
Another headline waits
A woman in Dehradun
once a bride
with bangles, dreams, and prayers.
Now the law calls it
Section 80
of the BNS.
Dowry death.
Such a small phrase
for such a cruel ending.
And today
the world posts bright messages —
Happy Women’s Day.
Flowers.
Discounts.
Speeches about empowerments
Yet the newspaper
tells another truth.
A truth written
in broken homes,
empty rooms,
and parents
who read the same headline again
hoping it will change.
Yes,
our Constitution promises equality
under Article 14.
Beautiful words
every law student memorises.
But I close the newspaper slowly.
Not because I finished reading
but because my heart
cannot read more.
And I wonder
If equality truly exists,
why do these pages
still carry so many daughters?
So today,
when the world says
Happy Women’s Day,
the newspaper whispers back
Not yet…………..