The
woman in me is pregnant with a thought. A thought that is disturbing, agitating
and engulfing the pride I take in being an embodiment of the nature’s purest
gift. Am I really the ‘shakti’ that holds within herself the power to bring a
life to this world..! As I see another rape victim surrendering to death, the
pain of realisation of my vulnerability refuses to dissolve. And as the wrath
in me condenses, I find an equally potent fear permeating my surroundings.
‘Outraging
the modesty of a woman’ is how we define it..really? Our body is the
entitlement of our existence, it is the medium through which we perceive this
world, it is our indulgence with the life itself, it is the sanctum sanctorum
in the temple of experiences. A rape not just outrages the modesty of a woman,
it violates her right to breathe the sanctity into her temple. And perhaps that is why we make the bodies of
women the battlegrounds of rage, the arena of revenge and the floor-test of the
some crude masculinity that finds satisfaction in desecrating it.
A
country of a billion rises today as if shaken in disbelief about the
commonality and brutality of this crime. Are we not the witnesses and silent contributors
to the same? The pervasiveness of this crime suggests how commonplace it is.
More than 24000cases registered in 2011 and more than a lakh pending trials;
the figures are gruesome. And this too when it is widely known that this is
just a tip of the iceberg status because most of the cases go
unregistered. No phenomenon can be that
common until it is indexed in the minds of the society, which in turn
contributes to the same, whether consciously or in ignorance.
The
reasons are rooted in the disadvantageous position of the women in the society
in general. The story starts right from the conception and is very blatantly
reflected in the falling child sex-ratios in the country.
A study by Menon and Sen (2001) found that
girls in India were discriminated against in several ways which include fewer
months of breast feeding, less nurturing and care, less care for medical
treatment if they fall ill, less of special food and less of parental
attention. As a result they are far more susceptible than boys to diseases and
infection leading to poor health and shorter life span. This lifelong
discrimination in nurturing and care happens to be the real killer of the
girls. Though it is less visible and dramatic, but it is as lethal as female
foeticide and infanticide.
We
should rather not be surprised to see the disheartening census figures when we
witness that this kind of son-worshipping guiding the mentality in our MotherIndia.
A blatant discrimination by parents
feeds in the mind of an average male the superiority of his status and his right
to dominate women in all spheres of life.
At the same time, too much of an association of family- honour with
women brittles her resolve to raise a voice against the wrong done to her
resulting in many cases getting unregistered. It rusts her will to defy the debilitating
norms governing her life and to challenge them.
Law
and order situation is to be blamed equally. There is no denying that a human
mind is a home to godly features that help him maintain the values, aesthetics
and beauty. At the same time his devilish tendencies that urge him towards
aberrations cannot be ignored and taken for granted. The callous nature that
law and order has adopted towards the plight of women feeds the devil inside
body of a man and only strengthens his clench on his evil intentions. It is no
hidden fact that many cases are not even registered inspite of the victim’s
plea; and if at all registered no thorough investigations are done. Looking at
the judges-population ratio in our country, which is somewhat near 13:1000000;
how can we expect the cases to undergo swift trial? How many victims actually
find solace in witnessing the culprits being punished? The present state of
affairs suggests that there is a near absence of fear of law in the minds of
the people.
We
should never forget that seeds of the fiendish tendencies will never germinate
if there is swiftness of trial and certainty of punishment. The way the cases are dragged on for years
together adds to the agony of the victim and discourages her to continue her
fight against the perpetrator. Moreover,
the gender insensitive procedures followed during the police investigations and
court room trials pain a victim as much as the ghastly incident in itself
did. And it shows that the trauma is not
just confined to the incident alone but like some incurable infection, it sours
the wound every minute and only worsens it.
It
is time we made our women ‘feel’ safe and confident about themselves. Isn’t it
awfully paradoxical that a lady who feels competent and strong enough in her
work environment feels equally vulnerable as soon as she steps out of her
office when it gets dark?
What
we need today are certain basic changes in the way we live our lives and our
institutional arrangements. Infact the start should be made from the schools
where children should be taught about gender equality right from the beginning
through special mention of such topics in their subject matter. The law
machinery should be tightened and be made more sensitive to women and their
problems. Trials should be made swift. The recent steps taken for the provision
of special elective courses on gender sensitivity by CBSE and the provision of
fast track courts is a welcome step in this direction. The vacancies in the
courts must be filled at the earliest. There is no dearth of laws in the
country, what is missing is the will to implement them.
But
most importantly we need to change the gross inhuman error that the society
makes in blaming the victim for her own plight. We need to support them through
their tough times instead of hurling further abuses on them; abandoning and
isolating them. Infact women themselves should be galvanised to become
assertive enough and not be cowed down by their suppressors.
Recently
there has been a spate of moral brigade advising women on the way they need to
dress up. If that was really the factor stoking the beastly intention of a man,
why would the innocent minors of age as low as 11 or 12years be raped. Do these
small children even know about sexuality and the flaunting of it! And how would
we explain the recent case where the Goregaon police arrested a 50-year-old man
who allegedly raped his 14-year-old mentally challenged niece.
Let
us understand that rape is not a sexual activity. It is violence; it is the
abuse of the human right of someone who is considered as weak, defenceless and unable
to retaliate; by the other. Let us know what it means from the point of view of
a woman who suffers. No, its not just about outraging the modesty of a woman.
Just observe a lonely woman walking deserted the street in the dark or even a
crowded one in the broad daylight. The obscenity of the gazes makes you feel
not just helpless but naked. And that happens irrespective of the dress you
choose to wear. I have rarely seen a lone woman relishing and appreciating the
surroundings while walking; most of them are rushing to their destination in
order to reach safe and sound as soon as possible. That is the fear that drapes
a woman’s conscience every single second she finds herself alone.
Any
discrimination, abuse and fear has a profound impact on the psyche of women. It
induces in them learned helplessness and makes them eternally dependent on male
counterparts for support. It dampens their ambitions and aspirations, lowers
their self-efficacy and kills initiative taking behaviour on their part. And hence to curb this discrimination,
intervention should be made both at institutional and social level. Our mindsets are a product of our ecology and
every factor contributes its bit in correcting a mistake.
It
is quite true that the level of a progress of a society is reflected in the
strength and progress of its womenfolk. No doubt that there has been a growing
awareness about the gender sensitive issues and that women are making rapid
strides into different walks of life but lets not get blinded by the miniscule stories
of successes. The bottom of this pyramid really constitutes a huge chunk of our
womenfolk. Its not only about giving them fair opportunities but also about
making sure that they get the conducive environment to avail them and feel
confident about their initiatives. Let no perpetrator of such a ghastly crime
go unpunished, let no woman suffer in silence, let no evil soul harbour the
thought that he can easily get away with it, let no such incident take place again..let
us rise as a civilised society and give our women their due.
