Disturbing isn't it? Well. Face it.

It begins silently. Subtlety.
When a mother is told to be good and share the joy. When she is told to let others experience the joy too.
"Here, we'll handle the child, you go enjoy yourself."
"Get your child off breastfeed for a while, for convenience, otherwise your child will simply be stuck to you."
As you grow, here, go hug this aunty. aww, go uncle is asking for a cheek kiss.
That stern gaze that falls upon a little one when pressed to sit in some uncle or aunt's lap.
That awkward moment when the mother is pressed to let her child be sent to a relative's house for joy.

It all starts there.
In ways so subtle.
There is no excuse from working mother to housewise.
From educated to uneducated. To those living in nuclear to those living in joint families.

It all starts from teaching our child to silent his/her natural birth right over his/her body.
It all starts from worshipping culture in the name of 'respect'.
It all starts from snatching the right of being respected as a child and giving it to an adult.

It all starts when we visit Bangkok, Thailand for honeymoons, in our wonders of magical time, conveniently choosing to ignore the plight of children suffering amidst that makeshift dungeons of beauty.

It all starts when we change display pictures for Army Public School victims while feeling uncomfortable about the Kasur children.

It all starts from a mother trying to protect her child being labelled as paranoid.

It all starts from an old aunt stern fully gazing at your lose shirt and jeans making you realize how ashmed you should be of your body as you are taken to change into 'kameez shalwar' for that's the culture. Lest do they know, dark truths don't care from jeans to shalwar kameez.

It all starts from within.
Outside the world is beautiful. Birds chirping and singing praises of joy, as somewhere, right now, sits perhaps a child hiding in the darkest corners wondering what it was.

It all starts from within. You and I. We welcome a child in the world and let the devils unleash. For all we care, in the name of culture, society, shame, denial and power.

For all we care, even the topic makes us uncomfortable. Bitter. Sad. Rather than making us frustrated and protective.