GBV : Call to action

🔥 Burning Down the Modern Ravanas of Gender-Based Violence

Invisible Scars Foundation | Dussehra 2025

Every year, as Dussehra approaches, we gather to watch Ravana’s effigy burn—symbolizing the triumph of good over evil.

But what if the real Ravana isn’t made of bamboo and paper?

What if he lives in our systems, our silences, our screens?

Today’s Ravana doesn’t roar. He whispers.

He hides in the boardroom that dismisses harassment as “miscommunication.”

He thrives in the courtroom that asks survivors what they were wearing.

He grows stronger every time we say, “It’s not that serious.”

💔 The Invisible Scars of GBV

Gender-based violence (GBV) is not always visible.

It doesn’t always leave bruises.

But it leaves scars—on minds, on memories, on futures.

- Fear that shapes daily choices: what to wear, where to walk, when to speak

- Anxiety that erodes confidence and trust

- Sorrow that isolates survivors, convincing them they are alone

- Silence that society imposes, making survivors carry shame that was never theirs

- Humiliation and disgust endured during trials, hearings, and disbelief

These are not just personal wounds.

They are cultural fractures.

And they demand collective healing.

🔥 The Modern Ravanas We Must Burn

If Ravana’s ten heads symbolized lust, anger, and ego—

Today’s Ravanas wear new masks:

- Harassment, stalking, and eve-teasing that strip away dignity

- Trolling, cyberbullying, and hate speech that silence voices online

- Gender inequality and discrimination that block opportunities

- Cruelty, ego, and indifference that allow violence to thrive unchecked

These are not “social issues.”

They are systemic failures.

And gender equality is not a “women’s issue”—it is a human imperative.

🌍 From Awareness to Accountability

Awareness without action is performance.

Justice demands more.

- Workplaces must move beyond policies on paper to cultures of safety and respect

- Leaders must model accountability, not complicity

- Communities must replace silence with solidarity

- Each of us must recognize: ending GBV is not charity—it is justice, equity, and humanity

💜 This Dussehra: A Call to Action

As Ravana’s effigies burn this week, let’s ask:

What Ravana still lives in us?

Every time we laugh at a sexist joke, dismiss a survivor’s truth, or stay silent in the face of cruelty—we feed that Ravana.

But every time we stand with survivors, teach respect, and choose dignity over silence—we strike it down.

Let’s not just celebrate mythology.

Let’s commit to burning down the modern Ravanas of harassment, inequality, cruelty, and silence.

Let’s #BurnItDown. Let’s #EndGBV.

🪔 Reflection: Ram, the Ravana of Your Era Was Better

(English translation of Pratap Somvanshi’s original)

> Ram, the Ravana of your era was better.

> He wore all ten faces out in the open.

> Even when he caused pain, he didn’t pretend to be kind.

> The tyrant broke down when confronted—

> You could read his guilt on his face.

>

> Today, the ache rises quietly at dusk.

> My promises to myself? All lies.

> No matter how much I try to reason with my heart,

> When something feels wrong, I still fight it.

>

> And someday, history will write of my time:

> The king’s character was painfully small.

> Ram, the Ravana of your era was better.

> At least he didn’t hide behind virtue.