Predators lure their preys with clichés

The cliché ‘Don’t you trust me?’ is something we have all heard at some stage in our lives especially when in intimate relationships. Let me steer you away from other relationships and draw your attention only to man woman relationship which is based on trust. This also could be the reason why partners say, ‘Don’t you trust me’ to each other when disagreements and external factors threaten to ruin their relationship. While I’ m not a man hater, a breach of trust by the male partner has resulted in disastrous outcomes. I am not biased or prejudiced, and I do admit that women betray men’s trust as well, but the fairer sex’s breach of trust has not drowned men in depression or influenced them to commit suicides except pay half their fortune in divorce settlements if they happen to be affluent husbands.

Now you may think I seek the assistance of hyperbole to validate my arguments. I rely on popular media and real experiences of people to prove that my viewpoint is not entirely false or baseless. A wise woman would not place unduly trust in her partner, especially male, even though she is cornered into a situation to oblige him, she should resist his charms and stay level-headed. Being a lover of Indian cinema, I keep myself updated with significant news about actors and actresses and so can enlighten people by mentioning the names of the then leading actresses Silk Smitha, Shoba and Srividhya.

Silk Smitha, the vampire of South Indian movies, was believed to have committed suicide in her Chennai home and the cause remains a mystery till date. In reality, it was harassment and ill-treatment at the hands of her partner that killed her as he was keen on exploiting her assets. Srividhya, another popular South Indian actress, who fell in love and married an assistant director of Malayalam movies, gave up her acting to live the life of a homemaker. However, very soon she found out that her partner had swindled her off her savings and forced her to take up acting again. Finding herself in financial hardship, Srividhya had no other alternative but to continue her career in the film making industry. Her decision to divorce her husband did not come as a surprise to public.

Mahahalakshmi Menon, known widely to fans and filmmakers as Shoba, committed suicide as she could not handle her partner’s deception. A budding talented actress who won awards for her stunning performances in Malayalam and Tamil films taking her life at the peak of her career gives room for suspicion. Need I point out that all the three women suffered because they fell for the ‘Don’t you trust me?’ phrase and were beguiled by their partner’s outwardly show of affection.      

f you think that this situation is exclusively Indian, you are mistaken. ‘Don’t you trust me?’ is a universal phenomenon. Women in prosperous countries, who have been raised with gender equity preached to them right from kindergarten, have been victimised by their partners who must have used the trust factor as their trump card to hoodwink them. British actress and model, Lucy Gordon, was found hanged in her flat in Paris few hours after she had a fight with her boyfriend Jerome Alveras. As suicide notes were found in her flat, police did not suspect foul play(?). Twenty-year-old Kazak model Ruslana Korshunova committed suicide (?) by jumping from the balcony of the ninth storey of a building in Manhattan or had fallen from that height by accident. It is ironical that she was dropped off by her boyfriend, Artem Perchenok, few hours before her death who was clueless about her depression or state of mind etc. Marilyn Monroe known as the most beautiful women of all times and the sexiest woman was accompanied by different people at different times on that crucial day and then at 3:00 am she locked herself and later was found dead. Although there was much speculation that her boyfriends Robert or John F Kennedy had murdered her, it was proved that she had an overdose of some drug.

Do you think women should have unquestionable faith in their male partners or in any other relation? Empowered women cannot allow emotion to sweep them off their feet but must court reason for their own welfare. Don’t you trust me on this one?