Where were these protesters when thousands were raped and paraded naked in this 'shining' nation?
It’s disgusting because what people fail to realize is that New Delhi’s Gang rape case is a painful reminder that we people are responsible for such crimes and we always blame the police and the government. Over the past two weeks the Indian community has been swept up in a wave of emotions over the gang rape of a 23-year old girl in New Delhi. Even as the brutal crime shocks the nation, and public discontent grows, there starts the blame game. It is abdicating our own societal responsibility when we try to pin all the blame on our self-serving politicians and police machinery rather than examining our rotten social system that allowed regressive ideas and criminal behaviour to flourish.
We should look at our society's past of oppression based on gender and caste, and the history of rape being used by men to instill fear and inferiority in the women. The idea of women being blamed more after a rape thus silencing them is still very apparent in our society. How can we expect a transformation without understanding the fact that change must come from society, but sadly, the rot in the government emanates from the decay in Indian society? For centuries, our women have been killed for ‘disgracing Indian culture’, attacked over their attire, and assaulted for having the temerity to turn down a flirting young man. Thousands of disenfranchised tribal and dalit women are routinely paraded naked and the society remained mute. As a patriarchal society, we never bothered to question the erotic stereotypical images and porn stuff disseminated through various technological devices, to prevent young adolescent boys from watching it, to curb the menace of Khap Panchayats of Haryana which favoured child marriage as a possible step to prevent rape. Ironically we never even think about the miscreants who attend a rally calling for justice for a rape victim, and take advantage of the crowds to sexually assault women.
The system may have failed but blaming the government solely would be futile as the rot goes deep into our society. As a community, we need to ask not only why this has happened, but how we can prevent it from occurring in the first place. Eradicating violence against women like rape in India is a socio-cultural shift that will take time and requires support from the entire community to make a real sustainable change. The best solution to the present crisis is to change the narrow-minded male mentality that considers women to be inferior. The media is the most important tool to change the way women are viewed in our society and to combat the stereotypical images of women as inferior to men. Action is not solely up to governments, organizations or groups but should start with us. We need to harness the shock and sadness over the New Delhi gang rape to demand a society that will not tolerate violence against women in any form. Severe laws and castration debates alone cannot stop rapes but only a change in the social psyche can effect a positive change.
We should look at our society's past of oppression based on gender and caste, and the history of rape being used by men to instill fear and inferiority in the women. The idea of women being blamed more after a rape thus silencing them is still very apparent in our society. How can we expect a transformation without understanding the fact that change must come from society, but sadly, the rot in the government emanates from the decay in Indian society? For centuries, our women have been killed for ‘disgracing Indian culture’, attacked over their attire, and assaulted for having the temerity to turn down a flirting young man. Thousands of disenfranchised tribal and dalit women are routinely paraded naked and the society remained mute. As a patriarchal society, we never bothered to question the erotic stereotypical images and porn stuff disseminated through various technological devices, to prevent young adolescent boys from watching it, to curb the menace of Khap Panchayats of Haryana which favoured child marriage as a possible step to prevent rape. Ironically we never even think about the miscreants who attend a rally calling for justice for a rape victim, and take advantage of the crowds to sexually assault women.
The system may have failed but blaming the government solely would be futile as the rot goes deep into our society. As a community, we need to ask not only why this has happened, but how we can prevent it from occurring in the first place. Eradicating violence against women like rape in India is a socio-cultural shift that will take time and requires support from the entire community to make a real sustainable change. The best solution to the present crisis is to change the narrow-minded male mentality that considers women to be inferior. The media is the most important tool to change the way women are viewed in our society and to combat the stereotypical images of women as inferior to men. Action is not solely up to governments, organizations or groups but should start with us. We need to harness the shock and sadness over the New Delhi gang rape to demand a society that will not tolerate violence against women in any form. Severe laws and castration debates alone cannot stop rapes but only a change in the social psyche can effect a positive change.
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