Is this how you treat your sisters, mothers and daughters?
India's Women Victims of Political Neglect
After 12 days of suffering the 23-year-old Indian rape victim died in a
hospital in Singapore because of the severity of her injuries. Now, bloggers
and newspaper analysts euphorically speculate about a feminist Indian spring, a
turning point in India’s women’s rights. However, in Indian society it is
almost a miracle that she made it that far. India's daughters are neglected, abused
and violated or outright killed before they are born.
Although India is a democratic country and the fourth largest economy in
the world on the basis of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) and usually cited a
role models in terms of economic development. India’s public Bollywood
propagated happy-go-lightly image clashes with the stark reality of abuse and
brutality towards women: It is the India where men are everything and women
nothing. On paper women have equal rights, in reality women are murdered
because of illegal dowry disputes. Tens of thousands female fetuses are
aborted; women are raped or sold. Oppressed by their own families, girls are
beaten, married off as children and then treated as slaves. According to a
study by the Thomson Reuters Foundation India is the most misogynist of the G
20 countries.
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| Unite Violence against women |
India is missing millions of
unborn girls
Even though sex selective abortion is illegal in India, boys are seen as
the more lucrative investment, girls cost money. Oddly enough, it is not the
educated well-off middle and upper-class parents that allow their unborn
daughters a chance at a better future, or any future really. The rural and
uneducated are statistically more likely to raise their daughters, not because
of their moral superiority but because of financial situation. Abortions as
well as ultra sounds are expensive.
Some blame colonialism and the slow modernization of the subcontinent
others blame the traditional Hindu mindset where the status of women remains
unclear. Depending on which sources you read women are either equal or inferior
and impure. Even though there are many female goddesses like Lakshmi and
Pravati, divine paragons of female virtue, they are docile and subservient to
their respective husbands. While the girl is traditionally considered the
property of the father, the wife after the wedding owns his bride and is
responsible for her well-being. She is considered the servant, the mother, the
minister in decision and the lover. In ancient times, no widow survived her
husband for long, as the Sati would throw herself on her husband’s funeral
pyre. Even though the practice was outlawed in 1987 following the case of Rup
Kanwar in Deorala, widows are still victims of the pressures in their social
environment and furthermore “the funds for the glorification of sati are often
donated not by individuals but by corporate entities for publicity purposes or
tax evasions[1]”. Even though there are no statistics available up to the present day, the
dire living conditions of Indian widows is cited for ritual burning.[2]
Police and Politicians turn a
blind eye
And the politicians? Why don’t they do anything? Is violence against women so
deeply ingrained in cultural practices and traditions that they fear the wrath
of their voters to even touch the subject? Rapists escape prosecution because
thevictims are not taken seriously. It’s a system where victims are left to die
or thrown out of buses like human waste. It’s a democracy where it’s legal to
rape your spouse – if the child bride is younger than 12 the husband is only
libel for imprisonment up to two years. It’s a system that rewards the
offenders for brutality. Too often the victims are scrutinized, questioned and
forced to remember every detail, only to be exposed as inappropriate. Statistically, every 54 minutes a women is
raped in India (State of World Population Report) Yet, the idea of non-consensual
sex seems foreign in the male India mindset, thus law enforcement officials
often depart from the idea the women cry foul after consensual intercourse and
the defense always argues with the same theory, especially when no injuries are
visible at first glance.
The Daugher of India died, because nobody cared about her rights. How many
more daughters, sisters and mothers have to die, for the poltiticians to defend
the other half of their population?
Violence against women no longer a national problem
According to recent news reports the violence against women is no longer just a national problem in India. A couple form Switzerland on their way to Agra, the location of one of most famous tombs: the Taj Mahal, was assaulted by a group of young men. Riding their bikes through the countryside, they toured central India, Madya Pradesch. It was suppsed to be another overnight stop in a small village, where mounted their tend when the men attacked them with sticks. After robbing the couple of their valuables, they continued beating the husband and gang raped the women. The police inspector of Madya Pradesch confirmed that the hospital, where the Swiss couple was treated could corroborate their story. Accordingly the police reported the suspects were already in custody. The Swiss embassy, in an official media communique, they were sorrow-stricken. The ambassador had had the chance to speak with the victim and assured her of his continued support, especially concerning the successful apprehension and prosecution of her attackers.
Almost ten years ago a similar case made the news. Then a Swiss diplomat in New Dehli was abducted and raped in a car. Then, the police did not manage to apprehend the offenders. Still visiting India is deemed relatively save, as long as a women doesn't travel alone. Sexual molestation, abuse and violence however are definitely increasing. The women's right's activist Mamta Scharma said: "The government should pay attention towards what is happening with the foreigners. Many incidents of violence against women have come into the limelight in Madhya Pradesh but the government is completely insensitive towards them. The accused should be punished and we should see what kind of image of India we are presenting to the outside world. The government should take strict action."
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