Sexual violence in India is a patriarchal backlash that must be stopped
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Version 0 of 1. In his first address in parliament, India's prime minister Narendra Modi said last week that the protection of women was paramount, and stressed that women deserved respect and dignity. In a country where misogyny is becoming something of an epidemic, this intervention is timely and urgent. Over the past few weeks the international media has been awash with stories from India of violence against women. In the village of Badaun in the state of Uttar Pradesh, two girls aged 14 and 15 were raped, murdered and their corpses hung on a mango tree. The families of the girls allege that police were disinclined to file a firsthand report because the victim belonged to a low caste, and the perpetrators were from a higher caste. Since this initial incident more chilling stories have emerged from Uttar Pradesh, with another two women found hanging from trees in the past few days. Following the horrific Delhi gang rape aboard a moving bus in December 2012, I wrote that the candle flame of protest in India's urban areas was not reaching the hinterlands where feudal rapes abound with impunity. India remains in many ways a very traditional society, where tradition is a euphemism for entrenched patriarchy. Yet with economic progress and more women coming out of the home to work, this patriarchal mindset is facing an emerging challenge. As increasing numbers of women become financially self-reliant, this is translating into greater overall independence, as they push back on the sociocultural boundaries ascribed by tradition. Indian women have begun asserting their own choices, rather than letting the males in their lives decide for them. Men who feel threatened by these newly emancipated women are countering the power shift with an aggressive dominance, the most execrable manifestation of this being the rapes we are seeing. Legislative measures following the Delhi gang rape have been ineffectual in abating acts of sexual violence against women. The new measures include a broader definition of rape, more stringent and longer sentences for sexual offenders, and the inclusion of acts such as voyeurism and stalking in the gamut of sex crimes. However these measures in themselves, while being necessary, are inadequate because they tackle the problem symptomatically not causatively. A causative approach – one that tackles the problem at the level of the mindset – is crucial to meaningfully kickstart the process of bridging the appalling gender gap. Institutional measures will aid this process but can't lead it. Urgent reform is also needed in the composition of rural administrative bodies (panchayats) where women-only groups should be invested with the authority to adjudicate on women-centric issues. Panchayats comprised of men have been known to recommend that survivors of rape marry their rapists, if he is merciful enough to consider marrying her, so the woman can reintegrate into society. This is because a raped woman, in their view, becomes a repository of indelible shame. Aside from issues directly affecting them, women must be made a more inclusive part of decision-making at all levels of Indian society. Each time a bloodcurdling case of rape and murder makes the news, the familial and societal response is counter-productive to women, such as greater restrictions put on their movements by their families and universities. Concerted campaigns that shift the emphasis to addressing male behaviour rather than female behaviour are crucial. Technology must also be appropriated as a means to ensure greater safety for women, for example the sexual harassment apps that already help women map abuse, assuming they can access them. There needs to be a reversal in the existing trend of blaming the victim; shaming the perpetrator must instead become the norm. If culprits were named on a nationwide database this would be a step in the right direction. Since the reforms of 1991 India has galloped ahead economically, but for the rise of India to be meaningful the patriarchy that is still tragically defining it has to become redundant. Women across India are looking for actions to speak louder than Modi's vehement denouncement of the mistreatment of their gender. |