War on rape, 2.0

The outrage over the utterly condemnable remarks made by Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal, particularly the comment that he would send his boys to rape the Opposition’s women, was not only indefensible but also criminally insensitive on multiple levels. Apart from the incendiary nature of his comment, and the incitement to rape, which should land him in jail without further delay, it displays what is a common enough mindset in our country — that women, despite being declared as equal citizens of the land by the Indian Constitution, are fundamentally treated as chattel or possessions by men, no better than sheep or cattle.

This could be manifested in a sophisticated, designer-clad trophy wife who is terrorised and kept in anorexic slavery by societal dictates and the total control exercised over her by her husband, as well as the village woman who does not even have a patch of sunshine where she can deal hygienically with the sanitary needs of menstruation — she has to hide her cloth and wash it in dirty water because she is told not to pollute clean water. Or the millions of village women who daily face rape and assault when they go out in the dark to defecate — fulfilling the most basic human need.

The chief minister of a state makes a public speech saying that when a woman is raped, she has to deal with the inquiries of only one police inspector, but if you want to start a small-scale industry, you have to deal with 16 inspectors. It boggles the mind to try and imagine what his message was. Was he saying that even one police inspector was not necessary to investigate rape? Was he saying that in order to start a small-scale industry the ministrations of 16 inspectors was too much? Whatever the burden of his song, the perversity of his statement lies in the comparison of rape with starting a small-scale industry. What kind of twisted logic could possibly bring together the agony of a woman whose sense of identity, her femininity, her sacred person, her body has been brutally and violently violated, with starting a small-scale industry which is normal business activity?

The Badaun rape case and the subsequent ones were to me extremely frightening and worrisome signposts to a society that is getting more violent and primitive by the day. The two cousins were gangraped and then hanged. To my mind, their hanging was the ultimate expression of contempt, arrogance and lack of fear. It was a show of power by the perpetrators, and a clear message to society — that we will not only assault and rape, but also hang our hapless victims on trees. In medieval times the equivalent was to behead the enemy and display their heads on spikes.

In recent times we have endlessly debated how to stop crimes against women. Laws have been analysed and discussed. The Justice Verma Commission did a commendable job in defining the parameters of an effective and substantial legal framework to prevent crimes against women. Amendments to criminal law have been made. Yet the crimes, the rapes and the attitudes persist. From the corporate boardroom to the agricultural field, from the highest court of the land to governments and legislatures, deep-rooted biases and complexes against women remain firmly embedded in the national psyche. I am now convinced that thousands of laws can be enacted, but they will never be properly implemented unless we address the fundamental issue — that women are, even in today’s India, regarded as property, much like sheep and goats and cattle.

Consider what Mr Pal said — that if the CPI(M) men insult the mothers and daughters of Trinamul workers, “I will let loose my boys in your homes and they will commit rape”. Why? What did their women do wrong? Why did he not say, if the Opposition rapes our women, we will ensure that the rapists are brought to justice and severely punished? Why should innocent women be raped in revenge? In war after war, in riots, caste conflicts, in any conflict situation, women are not treated as people or citizens.

All wars are fought on the bodies of women, although the ultimate irony is that women neither begin these wars nor do they have a stake in their outcome. All that the women want is peace, respect and the freedom to live, work and raise their children. Yet, the trigger always is the rape or humiliation of women of one side, and the injured party will invariably retaliate by ravaging the women of the other side. But, the real victims, the women, are never the focus in the aftermath — governments and authorities never focus on the rehabilitation of the raped women, on counselling for their terrified spirits and ensuring their future safety. Instead, compensation is offered to the men. The honour of women is no more than a shield used by men to keep women of all classes and denominations in perpetual subjugation.

Khaps don’t want women to use mobile phones or ride cycles. Goa ministers don’t want them to dress in a particular way. Pramod Muthalik will not let them enter pubs (although the men are allowed to indulge). And everything is ascribed to Bharatiya sanskriti. I would like to ask these gentlemen, which part of Bharatiya sanskriti permits or condones rape and other crimes against women. But, of course, I don’t really expect a logical answer.
Worse is the inexplicable attitude of some courts which allow the rapist to marry his victim and thereby exonerate him from his heinous crime! This is chauvinistic mindset at its worst.

Why on earth would a woman who was violently raped by a man want to marry him, and torture herself for the rest of her life? How will it help her? Justice demands that the rapist be severely punished so that it serves as a deterrent, and the woman rehabilitated. But this never happens.

It is clear that the more we shout, the more things remain the same. Laws have been made, but the shouting and declaiming continues unabated.
Perhaps it’s time to start taking the societal mindset issues seriously. This is obviously a Herculean task and the politics of power in the household will not allow an easy change of dynamics, but we must begin, and while doing so remember that our forefathers fought stupendous obstacles in amending property law, for instance, in favour of women.

There is no reason why we cannot effect a change in mindsets to ensure safety for all women from rape and other atrocities.

The author is a political activist, and the views expressed in this column are her own