Have you seen this video produced by No Country for Women, which has gone viral? We suggest you check it out. The video brings out the issue of objectification of women in the Indian entertainment industry. But the gruesome reality is that no one will ever talk about it.
It shows how despite having a woman chief minister in Kolkata, a 22-year old girl was assaulted in the city’s posh neighbourhood and everyone witnessing the incident continued to be mere bystanders. The girl later confessed on camera that she screamed for help, but to no avail. The video then goes on to show a similar incident in Bangalore, when the local Shiv Sena party workers attacked a pub and dragged some girls by their hair and called them ‘prostitutes’.
We believe that modern society is known by how free its women are. However, among the G20 nations, India has been ranked as the worst country for women. Every single day, newspapers reports are filled with crimes against women, especially in public spaces. According to the crime-mapping report by Delhi’s Police Crime Branch, every day, five women are raped, 12 are molested. Isn’t this a matter of national shame?
What is disturbing is the constant pressure to conform to high moral standards set by moral police, who consider themselves to be the torchbearers of morality. In an era where women are breaking the glass ceiling, this is definitely a reason to not just worry, but also raise a voice.The video also shows an incident where 30 cops, who were caught on a hidden camera by Tehelka, claimed that women ask for it by wearing revealing clothes. The question to mull over is-Are clothes the yardstick to judge a woman’s character? What happened to free will? Does freedom of expression not include the right to express ourselves through the clothes we wear? Would it be appropriate to think that a woman is available for sex just because she chooses to dress in a more modern way?
A quick Google search will yield results to show that a lot of women who were raped were not really dressed in ‘revealing’ clothes. Women are raped no matter what they wear: babies in nappies, old women in tracksuits and nuns in habits also get raped. The cops also claimed that women who drink invite rape.
A lot of women, who have been victims of guilt and shame, for decades, find it hard to report rape or to share it with friends and family. The survivor is left to fend for herself without adequate emotional support to recover from the trauma. Studies estimate that only one in nine survivors report rape. This means that most rapists walk freely among us, unpunished and ready to reoffend.
What needs to change is the all-pervading belief that women ask to be raped, by subtle yet apparently provocative signs such clothes, appearance, socializing till wee hours… The hypocrisy is perpetuating the stereotype; it has, in fact created a rape culture-one that is growing its tentacles in all four directions.
More >> Balancing Act
