Syeda Mazhar
In December 2012, in South Delhi, a 23 year old girl was brutally gang-raped and fatally wounded. She died in hospital fifteen days later, unable to recover from her injuries. When the details of the case came to light, initiated by media (specially the social media the victim became a symbol. Her tragedy sparked off activism, opening up a fiery public discussion on sexual assault that took the shape of candlelight vigils, strong social media advocacy (along with a full-fledged documentary), and explicit conversation on what was arguably a far more dormant topic in India until then.
Women’s safety in public spaces suddenly escalated to a position of supreme importance on political agendas, with parties attempting to enact related policy across the country. The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 2013 amended the scope of what constituted rape in light of this case, explicitly expanding it beyond the notion of non-consensual vaginal sex. More fast-track courts were set up to hear cases of rape, and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance of 2013 incorporated crimes like acid attacks, voyeuristic harassment and stalking more specifically into the Indian Penal Code.
However the cases went on and on depicting the truth of the Indian men’s physical and mental health. Along with regular reports of gang rapes and other assaults against infants, teenagers and other women, even nuns. Protests have been taking various forms; peaceful and aggressive. Yet the government chooses to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear towards them.
And now the Indian Army, the supposedly saviour of the nation, the prestige of the country is on the rampage. Indian Defence Attaché in Kabul Brigadier S K Narain has been reportedly expelled from Afghanistan over charges of raping an Afghan girl. The Afghan girl had approached the Indian Embassy for the purpose of scholarship where she was reportedly raped. This shameful act has not permeated any legal or criminal proceedings by the Afghan Government probably due to Indian pressure.
It is important to mention here that a few weeks ago three Indian Army soldiers also raped an Indian girl in the moving train. The Indian Army soldiers has also been accused of rape cases in the UN missions. While it is sadly known that the Indian army Officers and men have been involved in hundreds of cases of rapes in Indian Occupied Kashmir.
Citizens have been complaining that the state is more interested in protecting itself than protecting its citizens, especially women. Indian Prime Minister Modi’s government increased the budget for defense. The funds were reallocated from social services, education and the health sector to accommodate increased spending on war fare. Repeated incidents of various women becoming victims of sexual violence has become a national scandal in India.
Women also spoke of a more pervasive form of harassment of being groped in public; of fearing to ride buses or subways alone, of victims not attackers being shamed and blamed. Matters are made even worse when the political leaders have exhibited an absolute insensitive behavior towards such social issues. Recently, it is the graphic horror of the attack that set off the outrage: a 23-year old, whose evening at the movies with a friend turned nightmarish. She encountered a group of drunken men who promised a ride home but instead assaulted the couple with an iron rod and raped the woman as the bus moved through the city. The ironic part was the fact that the bus managed to cross five police check stops. All the while the heinous crime was committed.
The problem of sexual violence in India underlines the deep rooted misogyny of a society when the men are valued much highly than women. The whole chain of law enforcers are of the similar school of thought. Now the same mentality has intruded in the Indian Army as well over the years.
Instead of tackling the problems, it has just banned a documentary about it. BBC documentary, titled India’s Daughter features an interview with a rape convict who repeatedly blames the victim for fighting back while she was being raped. The controversy over the documentary demonstrates the country remains divided over the issue of sexual assault and how to move forward.
Three years after the horrific gang rape in Delhi of a young girl in 2012, India is yet to grapple with complex psychological and gender issues at the heart of the matter. Delhi which is now viewed as the rape capital of the world is a place where a woman is raped every 23 minutes. It is like an eternal ordeal for women where they can’t even rely on their law enforcers or Army Officers.
