Don't blame women for rape, put onus on boys to behave: Tharoor to politicians

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Thursday that politicians must admit that some remarks they make about rape are simply wrong.

In an article published in Hindustan Times, Tharoor expressed dismay that politicians are ready to discuss almost any issue, except rape. He said that this attitude must change.

“It is wrong to claim that rapes take place in cities and not in villages. Some of the most horrific rapes have taken place in rural India,” said Tharoor, in what was perhaps a jibe at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, who once said that rapes happen in India but not in Bharat.

Stating that the Khap Panchayats had been narrowing women’s freedom even as the Supreme Court expanded their rights, Tharoor cited the example of a woman who was raped by twelve men for the “crime” of having fallen in love with a man from another community – on the orders of the village panchayat.

Tharoor called for politicians to stand with the Supreme Court’s progressive outlook, not with that of the Khap Panchayats.

Lamenting the way politicians blame women for rapes, Tharoor said that instead of blaming women for the clothes they wear or the way they behave, politicians should place the onus on the boy to behave.

Tharoor also called for an end to statements like ‘boys will be boys’. He said that boys should be responsible citizens of Indian society, and the stringent laws which punish rape should be supported.

“It’s our job to work to create a safe society where a woman can go anywhere at any time without having to fear assault -- not to excuse the criminals who prey on women who dress a certain way,” Tharoor stated.

Tharoor stated that rape was not an acceptable response to changing social mores, and that ‘turning back the clock on progress never actually changes the time’.

Politicians have been unable to come to terms with the growing emancipation of women in our society, their increasing freedoms, and their autonomy from male control, said Tharoor, and therefore they feel reluctant to condemn and punish rapists – because at heart they share the same resentment the rapists feel.

“The trauma of rape is compounded by the level of social stigma attached to it,” wrote the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, adding that the victim is made to feel as if she has been defiled, violated and shamed publicly, and is no longer fit to lead a normal life.

Calling for criminalization of marital rape, Tharoor said politicians must not reinforce social control of female sexuality and male sexual entitlement, adding that rape is not about sex but about violence.

Rape affects all of us because it affects all of society, and therefore should not be dismissed as a ‘women’s issue’, said the MP.

Tharoor cited examples where women are mistreated, like abuse of women on social media, attacks on women journalists and writers, and sexist portrayals of women in popular culture that legitimise male harassment – such as the songs of Honey Singh.

Finally, Tharoor dismissed the notion that ‘family honour’ depends on ‘confining women behind a lakshman rekha that they must not cross.’ The Congress MP said that the onus lies on politicians to change such attitudes, because of the unique position they hold.

Stating that the 2013 law against sexual violence was good and no new laws were needed, Tharoor emphasized proper implementation of the existing laws to combat violence against women. Since women are reluctant to report rapes, the police reluctant to record them and successful rape prosecutions rare, Tharoor said it is up to the authorities to enforce the law, and for politicians not to undermine them.

In conclusion, Shashi Tharoor appealed to politicians to have ‘zero-tolerance for rape.’ “If we set the example, the nation will follow. Let us honour Bharat Mata and truly ensure her ‘jai’,” he said.