Rape & Reality
By Poonam I Kaushish
India is at war with its girls and women. As terrifying tales of savagery, nightmarish rapes, domestic abuse and violence occur daily. But three incidents over three months have shaken and horrified us once again. Gang rape of a 24-year-old law student inside a Kolkata college campus by an ex-Trinamool Chhatra Parishad leader is not merely a tragic anomaly, it’s a grim indictment of a State system that increasingly fails to protect women.
Coming three months after rape-murder of a postgraduate trainee at R.G Kar Medical College it underscores nothing has changed: West Bengal’s institutional spaces are becoming dangerously unsafe and politics often shields the guilty. A cue of how political affiliations enable a sense of impunity.
Even as Mamata’s TMC publicly condemned the act and sought distance, its silence on the broader issue of student safety and political interference speaks volumes. The State’s crime rate against women is 71.8 per lakh population, higher than national average 66.4 while conviction rates remain worryingly low.
In March, picturesque idyll Hampi, Karnataka turned into horror for five: two Israeli women who were raped and three men thrown into the canal. Yes, police swung into action, arrests were made. Yet, once again we were reminded that a decade plus after Nirbhaya, brutal sexual violence continues to run rampant country-wide. Don’t variations of this happen to innumerable women in India?
Confronted with conscience-jolting and repugnant acts of depravity, India reacts with vindictive anger and revulsion. But the howls of vigilantist fury that reverberates through corridors of power stands apart for their immaturity and impetuosity
Alas, a lot of political outrage is along Party lines, reflecting a hellish normalization of sexual brutalities. But gang-rape is not an aberration. It is the outcome of a system where institutional decay, political muscle and silence enable recurring violence.
Last year, after a Spanish tourist with her partner was gang-raped in Jharkand guess what our National Commission for Women was concerned about? The entire country should not be ‘vilified,’ as over 6 million tourists arrive, many of them single and their safety we take very seriously. Sic. It’s another matter, Albania, one-sixth Karnataka’s size gets 12 million tourist but is safe.
Undeniably, India regularly ranks among most dangerous and unsafe for women. Wherein, rape is a “national problem”, according to UN Human Rights Commission. Sounds harsh? But hearing rape is not harsher than living rape. We live in a society where marital rape is legal. Even a wife’s subsequent death doesn’t weaken a husband’s immunity, a High Court said recently.
Arguably, when law doesn’t take rape too seriously, neither does India. This begs a question: Why is India failing its women so miserably? Are they gajar-mooli which can be relished and then spat out?
Perhaps it has something to do with our patriarchal lineage and misogynistic culture whereby, we show utter disregard and disrespect for women. The Hathras rape case brought forward the barbarism of those who sit at top of the gender and caste hierarchical systems.
As sexual violence is not only a structural outcome of entrenched patriarchy but a political failure. When male-dominated institutions, be it educational, legal or political treat women’s bodies as collateral damage in power struggles, violence becomes normalised.
Clearly, in a society which lives with the regressive mindset that freedom and equality for women tantamount to promiscuity, we swing between two extremes. One where a girl child is bad news and nurtured on “conform” paranoia: Not to rock the boat, be fearful of what lies around the corner and subjecting them to countless restrictions in the name of women’s protection. Whereby fathers make the rules, husbands enforce them and male bosses reiterate them, speaking out against someone’s wrong doing is tough.
Sadly a large section of women do not have rights over their bodies and are viewed as sex objects and mince-meat for male lust camouflaged as human animals to either comply or reconcile to battling it out at every level. They are morally policed by society, their bodies sexualized right from their choice of wearing dresses to make-up.
Recently, a BJP leader charged “women in ripped jeans and running towards nudity” for rising cases of moral turpitude, his Bihar colleague advised women to carry condoms and accept rape, a Rajasthan Minister blamed TVs and mobiles for “fast” girls read loose morals, a Haryana khap leader said eating Chinese chowmein caused rape, another counseled women to get ‘godfathers’ who can “make them” professionally. A Maharashtra Minister asserted liquor sale would increase if they are given women’s names ‘Bobby’-‘Julie’.
Instead of punishing attackers for heinous crimes, victim-blaming and slut-shaming a woman for the choices she makes is what our society resorts to save its “honour.” One only has to see our community attitudes and derogatory comments on social media to comprehend how women are treated. Either way the damage is done. Getting married and raising kids is the core of female existence. Sic.
In a culture where the national narrative conditions people to think that sexual harassment has no consequences; where sex crimes are dismissed as result of an imbalanced sex ratio; and where women have little or no cultural respect, it is going to be a steep uphill to change what is just ‘normal’.
Rape is not just an act of lust or anger; it is often an assertion of dominance, enabled by systemic failures and cultural silence. Unless both patriarchy and political capture are addressed together, safety reforms will remain cosmetic.
Shockingly, the National Crime Records Bureau reveals crime against a woman is committed every minute, rape every 5 minutes, dowry death occurs every 77 minutes and cruelty committed by either husband or relative occurs every 9 minutes. Any wonder our high rate of female infanticides and sex-selective abortions.
Undeniable it is a wake-up call for change. Women safety cannot be restored without urgent and tangible reforms. One, police must be guaranteed autonomy to investigate cases without political interference. Two, empowered internal complaints committees and crisis cells staffed by gender-sensitised professionals. Three, public commitment to zero tolerance for violence, with action against those who intimidate or coerce. Four, survivors must also be empowered by improving access to legal aid, mental health support and fast-track courts.
We need to change our approach to sexual harassment. One option is radical feminism to make a social impact and safety of women an important article of faith with people, society and Government. Laws should be tightened which would deter men to think thousand times before they commit crime, along-with transparency, accountability and good governance. Our leaders need to pay heed and address this seriously.
Every rape is a dark moment —- but it should also be a turning point. Governments has made false promises of ensuring safety and fast-track courts still remain a far-fetched assurance for assault victims. If India wishes to remain a place that values equity and justice, it must break the grip of power networks and re-establish the rule of law. Anything less would betray the victims.
We need cry halt to women being playthings of voyeuristic men. Will she continue to constitute weaker gender? Will we persist to wallow in tokenism? Or break new ground and unshackle women? Will there be beginning of a new dawn to make “Her Story?” — INFA