The real enemy

I am stumped, lost.... I know I am painting a bleak picture....

What do you do when your enemy isn't poverty, physical handicap or financial dependence.... but the mindset of the society as a whole... the belief system that is unshakable in all whole hold it sacred..

The dictionary says ABUSE is:

to treat in a harmful, injurious, or offensive way.

to speak insultingly, harshly, and unjustly to or about; revile; malign.

to commit sexual assault upon.

bad or improper treatment; maltreatment.

a corrupt or improper practice or custom.

But what if abuse is not considered as abuse, but a necessary evil you have to live with.... the intensity and kinds you are subjected to determined by your gender mainly, but also by caste, social hierarchy, occupation & income? And what if this forms the core of the beliefs people imbibe at a young age.. never to be tampered with or changed.

In my interaction with a lot of people here, I have personally heard them accept it as normal: the physical abuse kids undergo, the domestic violence women face, the ohhhhh... so innocent fondling & touching children endure from family or from someone they know, the sexual abuse, molestation, eve teasing women face, the verbal abuse that strips them of any dignity or self-esteem they harbor
There is no end!!!

Your idealism, the sense of purpose all falter when the magnitude of the problem hits you.... when you realize that donating money or even time at your local NGO is not enough... the relief you provide to these people remains temporary.. without addressing or working towards changing the belief's the underprivileged hold, your help is just a passing fantasy.... you move on to the next project, next person with a sense of satisfaction, but you've left behind people in no better a condition than before....

If all that women want is a good life, within the confines of male domination, within the confines of domestic/sexual/verbal abuse; being codependent they look for a master who can be just a bit gentle; whether father or husband, what do you do?

Being accustomed to asserting my individuality & free will, I presumed all the women were burning to do the same... all those, who I know are suppressed, dominated, helpless...
I was quite wrong.. I did what I most abhor... I presumed and prejudged. Such is human frailty.
I feel deflated..... not having anticipated the unforeseen roadblock- beliefs imbibed from the society!

I'm no stranger to abuse.. I've experienced every form of it through childhood... I've struggled to be break the mould, be myself and be independent.... Now I am assimilating the fact that not everyone finds abuse outrageous, or considers it an invasion or unnecessary.
I haven't given up on helping those in need... I just have to change my approach.

Will let you know when I make some progress...