Following to the Rape(in Delhi)
Greetings, fellow bloggers and dear readers. As I sit down to write a really long post, please excuse me for the length and make sure that, if you read this, then do so till the end, with a heart. I have deliberately added excerpts from the father of Jyoti(Damini, or Nirbhaya, the assaulted lady) to keep the emotion on pace with the post.
India is mourning the demise of the courageous lady brutally assaulted and raped by 6 men on 16th December 2012. There are silent protests to express solidarity and seek justice for Jyoti Singh Pandey. My heart goes out for the parents of the sufferer. Time, they say, waits for none, but for them, it seems the clock has stopped.
Her father, Badri Singh Pandey, says, “We want the world to know her real name. My daughter didn’t do anything wrong, she died while protecting herself. I am proud of her. Revealing her name will give courage to other women who have survived these attacks.”
Meanwhile, many people from different sections have suggested means of decreasing these brutal incidents. RSS head Mohan Bhagwat sayed that crimes against women happen in urban India, not Bharat(rural/tribal areas). He blamed “western culture” for atrocities against women. He advised women to obey the “theory of social contract” by confining themselves to doing household chores and leaving the earning of money to their husbands. Kailash Vijayvargiya, a minister in Madhya Pradesh, told that women should be punished if they crossed their limits. The example of Sita, one of the worst sufferers in Hindu mythology, was ready on his lips.
Jyoti and her friend Awindra Pandey, had boarded a bus to get home after seeing a movie, The Life of Pi, but had been taken on a two-and-a-half hour hell-acious ride by the driver, his assistant and four passengers. Both were battered with iron bars and Jyoti was repeatedly raped before they were stripped and dumped on a road.
A leader Ashok Singhal and the Jamaat-e-Islami, units feeding into communalism and fundamentalism, dogmatized on the virtues of virginity of women, the evil western culture, dignified clothing for girls and the undesirability of co-education. Most recently, Asaram(God!) Bapu said, “Only 5-6 people are not the culprits. The victim is as guilty as her rapists. She should have called the culprits brothers and begged them to stop. This could have saved her dignity and life. Can one hand clap? I don't think so." Some people state that women shouldn't be allowed to mix with men publicly. Not only have these solutions been monumentally cliche-ridden and backward, but perfectly managed to capture exactly the opposite of what would actually reduce rapes in our country. Most of these 'solutions' invoke some form of Indian culture and portray a rotten male-dominated society.
Jyoti's father recalled some moments when he met her at the hospital. “I put my hand on her forehead and called her name. She slowly opened her eyes and started crying and said she was in pain. I held my tears. I told her not to worry, have strength and everything will be all right.”
I don't understand why males in our country are compared to the mythological idol Rama and women, to Sita. Ramayana, according to me, is THE best example of a male-dominated society in India. If we Indians are so inclined to mythology, why not reference Draupadi? Draupadi's reaction, after Krishna rescues her from Dushasana's assault while her husbands and elders sit by in passive silence, is not meek gratitude. She berates the men for their complicity and their refusal to defend her; instead of the shame visited on women who have been sexually assaulted, she expresses a fierce, searing anger.
She will wear her hair loose, she says, as a reminder of the insult; she does not see herself and her body as the property of the clan, least of all as the property of the husband, Yudhisthira, who has gambled her away to the Kauravas. She demands justice and is prepared to call down a war that destroys the clan in order to receive her due. It is no wonder, perhaps, that those sections of conservative India who will cite Sita's violation of duty - her crossing of the Lakshman rekha - as the reason for women's rape will not speak of Draupadi.
Let me give you another angle of Ramayana, Surpanakha. She is Ravana's sister and, by extension, probably as learned as her brother; that she is free enough to express her desire for the brothers Rama and Lakshmana; and that she is indeed free to roam the forests without protection. The ending of that part remains the same as the contemporary warnings handed out to our women- if you assume that you are free to roam everywhere, even in the forests, you will be hurt by the most ostensibly chivalrous of men, even Rama.
Jyoti's father, meanwhile, recalls, "She wanted to live, she wanted to survive and stay with us. But it was fate that had the last say in the end.” Badri earned Rs 5,700 a month. He says, “It’s hard living in Delhi on my wages, very hard. But Jyoti always said she would change all of that. She wanted to change our lives once she got a job.” Jyoti won't come back. Hope life eases a bit on her parents.
Someone says customs like in Saudi Arabia should be practiced. By practicing the strictest form of gender segregation, sexual crime can be ended. Oh, provided, you ignore all the rapes that happen there each year. And the beheading, hand chopping, stoning and extreme separation and a number of extreme actions. Keeping aside all these, okay, following the Saudis is good enough! Damn! These hypocrites!
And to those who strongly support mythological society and its rotten customs, and who propagate against evolution, here's a good news. The word 'Rape' comes from Latin, 'rapere'. Its cited nowhere in Indian scriptures. Happy? But don't forget, ours is one of the most male-dominated societies in this world. Rape, mostly, isn't even considered as a crime. Did you know, that only 0.0018% of rape cases are reported? Astonished? Calculate 0.0018% of 1.22 billion now. And that's the number of reported cases only. Reported cases form a tenth of the real number.
Anyways, even if I accept the wholesale tarnish of my character(as Asaram and bloody politicians are propagating, it means males must be greedy, debauched beasts by default!) I want to say that Rape happens in every country, from the strict Saudi Arabia to the liberal Netherlands, from ladies in shorts and jeans to ladies in sarees and burkhas. It also happens to a few men and people of trans-gender base. These disastrous publicity stunts and irking speeches won't stop them.
An infuriating attitude in our society is the objectification of women. In Bollywood lingo we call them "items". A definition of objectification might be: "portrayals which suggest that women are objects to be looked at, ogled, even touched, or used as commodities, to be purchased, perhaps taken - and once tired of, then discarded, often to be replaced by a younger edition; certainly not treated as full human beings with equal rights and needs." This callous outlook is the reason, I believe, for the widespread sexual harassment of women in colleges/universities, at work and most of the public places in India.
In this moment of national grief, beyond the candle light protests, the associated media attention, uninhibited personal expressions of anguish and frustrations on social media, isn't it necessary to do some introspection? Rape is only the tip of the ice-berg. "Why are WE like this?" "Why do WE praise someone else for helping the wounded on a road but never go near him ourselves?" "Why do WE speed on in traffic and expect others to be careful?" "Why do WE practice inane customs and caste-systems and propagate others to evolve with time?" "Why do WE take no heed of eve-teasing or molesting and expect others to drop in and act heroically?" It's time, enough is enough. It's time, WE evolve through a wholesome change.
For my part, I have become more aware and started to question/report where there's something wrong. And I wish to come back with something fresh the next time(sigh!) If you wish to read more news,
It's here:- Gang-rape Victim's Father Speaks.
And here:- Asaram Symbolizes the Rot in Masculine India.
India is mourning the demise of the courageous lady brutally assaulted and raped by 6 men on 16th December 2012. There are silent protests to express solidarity and seek justice for Jyoti Singh Pandey. My heart goes out for the parents of the sufferer. Time, they say, waits for none, but for them, it seems the clock has stopped.
Her father, Badri Singh Pandey, says, “We want the world to know her real name. My daughter didn’t do anything wrong, she died while protecting herself. I am proud of her. Revealing her name will give courage to other women who have survived these attacks.”
Meanwhile, many people from different sections have suggested means of decreasing these brutal incidents. RSS head Mohan Bhagwat sayed that crimes against women happen in urban India, not Bharat(rural/tribal areas). He blamed “western culture” for atrocities against women. He advised women to obey the “theory of social contract” by confining themselves to doing household chores and leaving the earning of money to their husbands. Kailash Vijayvargiya, a minister in Madhya Pradesh, told that women should be punished if they crossed their limits. The example of Sita, one of the worst sufferers in Hindu mythology, was ready on his lips.
Jyoti and her friend Awindra Pandey, had boarded a bus to get home after seeing a movie, The Life of Pi, but had been taken on a two-and-a-half hour hell-acious ride by the driver, his assistant and four passengers. Both were battered with iron bars and Jyoti was repeatedly raped before they were stripped and dumped on a road.
A leader Ashok Singhal and the Jamaat-e-Islami, units feeding into communalism and fundamentalism, dogmatized on the virtues of virginity of women, the evil western culture, dignified clothing for girls and the undesirability of co-education. Most recently, Asaram(God!) Bapu said, “Only 5-6 people are not the culprits. The victim is as guilty as her rapists. She should have called the culprits brothers and begged them to stop. This could have saved her dignity and life. Can one hand clap? I don't think so." Some people state that women shouldn't be allowed to mix with men publicly. Not only have these solutions been monumentally cliche-ridden and backward, but perfectly managed to capture exactly the opposite of what would actually reduce rapes in our country. Most of these 'solutions' invoke some form of Indian culture and portray a rotten male-dominated society.
Jyoti's father recalled some moments when he met her at the hospital. “I put my hand on her forehead and called her name. She slowly opened her eyes and started crying and said she was in pain. I held my tears. I told her not to worry, have strength and everything will be all right.”
I don't understand why males in our country are compared to the mythological idol Rama and women, to Sita. Ramayana, according to me, is THE best example of a male-dominated society in India. If we Indians are so inclined to mythology, why not reference Draupadi? Draupadi's reaction, after Krishna rescues her from Dushasana's assault while her husbands and elders sit by in passive silence, is not meek gratitude. She berates the men for their complicity and their refusal to defend her; instead of the shame visited on women who have been sexually assaulted, she expresses a fierce, searing anger.
She will wear her hair loose, she says, as a reminder of the insult; she does not see herself and her body as the property of the clan, least of all as the property of the husband, Yudhisthira, who has gambled her away to the Kauravas. She demands justice and is prepared to call down a war that destroys the clan in order to receive her due. It is no wonder, perhaps, that those sections of conservative India who will cite Sita's violation of duty - her crossing of the Lakshman rekha - as the reason for women's rape will not speak of Draupadi.
Let me give you another angle of Ramayana, Surpanakha. She is Ravana's sister and, by extension, probably as learned as her brother; that she is free enough to express her desire for the brothers Rama and Lakshmana; and that she is indeed free to roam the forests without protection. The ending of that part remains the same as the contemporary warnings handed out to our women- if you assume that you are free to roam everywhere, even in the forests, you will be hurt by the most ostensibly chivalrous of men, even Rama.
Jyoti's father, meanwhile, recalls, "She wanted to live, she wanted to survive and stay with us. But it was fate that had the last say in the end.” Badri earned Rs 5,700 a month. He says, “It’s hard living in Delhi on my wages, very hard. But Jyoti always said she would change all of that. She wanted to change our lives once she got a job.” Jyoti won't come back. Hope life eases a bit on her parents.
Someone says customs like in Saudi Arabia should be practiced. By practicing the strictest form of gender segregation, sexual crime can be ended. Oh, provided, you ignore all the rapes that happen there each year. And the beheading, hand chopping, stoning and extreme separation and a number of extreme actions. Keeping aside all these, okay, following the Saudis is good enough! Damn! These hypocrites!
And to those who strongly support mythological society and its rotten customs, and who propagate against evolution, here's a good news. The word 'Rape' comes from Latin, 'rapere'. Its cited nowhere in Indian scriptures. Happy? But don't forget, ours is one of the most male-dominated societies in this world. Rape, mostly, isn't even considered as a crime. Did you know, that only 0.0018% of rape cases are reported? Astonished? Calculate 0.0018% of 1.22 billion now. And that's the number of reported cases only. Reported cases form a tenth of the real number.
Anyways, even if I accept the wholesale tarnish of my character(as Asaram and bloody politicians are propagating, it means males must be greedy, debauched beasts by default!) I want to say that Rape happens in every country, from the strict Saudi Arabia to the liberal Netherlands, from ladies in shorts and jeans to ladies in sarees and burkhas. It also happens to a few men and people of trans-gender base. These disastrous publicity stunts and irking speeches won't stop them.
An infuriating attitude in our society is the objectification of women. In Bollywood lingo we call them "items". A definition of objectification might be: "portrayals which suggest that women are objects to be looked at, ogled, even touched, or used as commodities, to be purchased, perhaps taken - and once tired of, then discarded, often to be replaced by a younger edition; certainly not treated as full human beings with equal rights and needs." This callous outlook is the reason, I believe, for the widespread sexual harassment of women in colleges/universities, at work and most of the public places in India.
In this moment of national grief, beyond the candle light protests, the associated media attention, uninhibited personal expressions of anguish and frustrations on social media, isn't it necessary to do some introspection? Rape is only the tip of the ice-berg. "Why are WE like this?" "Why do WE praise someone else for helping the wounded on a road but never go near him ourselves?" "Why do WE speed on in traffic and expect others to be careful?" "Why do WE practice inane customs and caste-systems and propagate others to evolve with time?" "Why do WE take no heed of eve-teasing or molesting and expect others to drop in and act heroically?" It's time, enough is enough. It's time, WE evolve through a wholesome change.
For my part, I have become more aware and started to question/report where there's something wrong. And I wish to come back with something fresh the next time(sigh!) If you wish to read more news,
It's here:- Gang-rape Victim's Father Speaks.
And here:- Asaram Symbolizes the Rot in Masculine India.
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