According to the report released on 4 December 2023, Maharashtra recorded the highest number of suicides (22,746) for the third consecutive year, followed by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.

If we look at these statistics, it is clear that the working class in the country is at the top in terms of suicides. A third of these figures are suicides of farmers and farm labourers. The next highest number of suicides is that of daily wage labourers, whose number is 44,713, which is 26.4 per cent of the total. This figure is 1% more than last year.

Also if we talk about professionals, they account for 9.2 percent of suicide cases, including 14,395 salaried and 18,357 self-employed people. Looking at suicides due to unemployment, it is 9.2 percent, while 3,541 such cases were reported in 2021, while the number was marginally lower in 2022 – 3,170.

Rising suicide rate across the country is the most worrisome. Over the years people’s purchasing power has gone down, while inflation has been on the rise. Along with this, unemployment has also peaked. As a result, people’s savings have also declined by 5 per cent. While NCRB data says that most workers quit due to family reasons. or suicides due to illness, financial crisis is one of the main reasons.

According to NCRB, 1,09,875 people who committed suicide i.e. 64.3 percent have an annual income of less than Rs 1 lakh. There has been a huge increase in the number of suicides by 27.06 percent in the last five years and the proportion of suicides (16.4) is higher in urban areas.

Govt’s false development claims

These figures expose the government’s false development claims. Earlier, farmers used to commit suicide, but this was not the case with labourers. Labourers used to migrate for work and earn their livelihood by doing anything, but the problem of employment has arisen in front of them, and in the last few years, workers are also committing suicide and this number is increasing in big cities as well which is more serious. It shows that the workers are desperate and hence they are sacrificing their lives.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has released its ‘Crime in India 2022’ report. Like every year, this year also there has been an increase in the incidents of violence against women. According to the data in the report, a total of 4,45,256 crimes against women have been reported in 2022. Whereas earlier in 2021, 4,28,278 and 3,71,503 cases were reported in 2020. That is, last year in 2022, about 51 crimes were registered every hour in relation to crimes against women. This data tells a different truth than all the promises and intentions of women’s safety.

According to this report, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases of crimes against women last year in 2022. About 65 thousand 743 crimes were registered here. This is the same BJP-ruled state where speeches from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to Union Home Minister Amit Shah cite examples of women’s safety. Everything from Mission Shakti to Safe City scheme for women is going on here, but the story of insecurity does not change.

Capital Delhi has the worst record in terms of crime against women. The crime rate against women in Delhi is 144.4, higher than the national average of 66.4. This crime rate is per one lakh women. If we understand it in simple terms, it is the percentage of women victims of crime in relation to population i.e. for every 1 lakh women. Crime rate against women is 118.7 in Haryana, 117 in Telangana, 115.1 in Rajasthan.

Maharashtra and Rajasthan are not far behind in cases of violence against women. 45 thousand 331 cases have been registered in Maharashtra and 45 thousand 58 cases in Rajasthan.

Highest 31.4% cases of crimes against women under IPC were of cruelty by husband or his relatives

Trinamool Congress’s West Bengal is not far behind among the unsafe states for women. Women had special expectations from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but here too 34 thousand 738 cases were registered.

Elections were held recently in Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP was described as a ‘women-loving’ government, but under Shivraj Singh’s rule, 32,765 cases of crimes against women were registered here too. These are the statistics of some states where leaders and ministers do not tire of repeatedly claiming that it is safe for women. Schemes are carried out in the name of security, posters with their pictures published in newspapers, However, every day the pages of newspapers expose the security system of women well. And perhaps the success of the women’s movement is that women are becoming aware and raising their voices against the oppression they face.

Women are most vulnerable in their homes

According to the report, the highest 31.4% cases of crimes against women under Indian Penal Code (IPC) were of cruelty by husband or his relatives. This means women are most vulnerable in their own homes. This was followed by 19.2% cases of kidnapping and abduction of women by luring or threatening them. At the same time, 18.7% of women were assaulted with the intention of defaming their dignity and 7.1% of cases of rape were reported.

Law and order in Delhi is in the hands of the central government and is controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government. Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the BJP contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on which women’s safety was an important issue. The party made many promises in its manifesto and the Prime Minister in his speech. But now that Prime Minister Modi’s second term is coming to an end, the question is now being raised whether those promises were limited to slogans.

It is noteworthy that NCRB’s ‘Crime in India’ report was released this time on December 3 i.e. Sunday. This report comes every year and every year we lament the increasing crimes against women, like – violence against women has increased this year compared to last year or how many women and minor girls are victims of rape every day. The graph of murder, domestic violence, dowry is high in these metros and sometimes the graph of domestic violence, dowry death is high in these metros and sometimes these states are most unsafe for women. But this does not solve the issue of women’s safety or change the status of women.

Courtesy: CounterView

The post Increase in desperation among workers, violence against women, say official data appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Jaya Bachchan’s and Swati Mahiwal’s outbursts, in Parliament and outside, may be understandable but they also show that our politicians have run out of ideas. They treat all incidents of violence against women as simple ‘law and order’ problems. Both of them have not spoken up against the culture which degrades women and makes them secondary to men. Why would they speak when they ‘celebrate’ so ‘joyously’ all the festivities where women celebrate their secondary status, like the Karwa chowth, Bhaiya Dooj,Raakhi,Sankat Chowth etc. Not only this, do read the ‘good books’ of Gita Press, Gorakhpur, written by Goyanka ji, which describe how a woman should live, views best known in his ‘Adarsh Bharatiya Naari’.

The seriousness of our Parliamentarians can be gauged from the fact that there were just a few, who wanted to speak on the issue of violent crimes against women – you could count them on your fingers. Where is the rest of the outrage?

Just asking for the accused to be handed over to the public for ‘lynching’ is the worst kind of response from a law-maker/legislator. Can those sitting in the Parliament and Assemblies really speak like this, utter words that promote and encourage the culture of mob-lynching?

Yes, we have failed to protect our people. We have failed to take action, not just in stopping crimes against women but in a host of other spheres, too. Or else, all those whose names are listed in the Panama papers would have been behind bars, but they enjoy not only popularity but also ‘respect’. Our criticisms and campaigns are very selective and targeted. When you speak about corruption, you name Lalu Yadav but will not utter a word against the Ambanis or Bachchans!

We need to devote some time to think on these issues. Professionalise your forces and law enforcing agencies. As long as these agencies are just tools of the ruling parties; to harass those who are opponents or civil society organisations, independent journalists and activists, they will never be able to look at these issues from the perspective of human rights.

Unfortunately, human rights became the ‘worst’ term in this country and the right wing men and women (I include Patriarchal women in this) have abused human rights defenders and feminists. It will be the Human Rights defence that we all will need, including those Hindutva champions who have often abused them.

Once we respect the individual and her autonomy over her body, we will respect her right. However, that understanding will not come unless our leaders and those who are in public services and institutions educate themselves and their children, tell students that the past is not always great and glorious. Times have changed. Women are not just family guardians or caretakers, but are leaders, too, and need equal space in all sphere of life.

All public spaces will need women’s representation. They will need to deal women’s issues not merely as a gender’s issues but as human rights issues. And the more women emerge from social movements into these structures, the better it would be. I wish more and more women, active on the ground, become our law-makers so that we are saved from the idiotic ideas of those who are symbolically brought out from the ‘powerful’ families in the name of ‘women’. We do not need people from the tinsel town to ‘represent’ us. In the last twenty years, more and more ‘brands’ are entering our Parliament, which reveals the deep antipathy of our political class towards people’s representation. Political leaders have made politics apolitical by bringing into public life people these ‘brands’, who have no interest except for ‘serving’ themselves and protecting their money and other business deals. If parties are so interested in women’s issues, let them give fair representation to women from all segments of life, including Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and minorities, in these law-making processes but they will not do so. Tragedy is that parties like Samajwadi Party ensure that Jaya Bachchan is in the Rajya Sabha continuously for such a long period, but never ask her about her contribution towards the ideas that her party stands for. Either the party does not stand for socialist ideas or Jaya is not bothered about socialism and social justice, but her own self. But the problem is that once she leaves Samajwadi Party or the party is not willing to give her a ticket, others will be ready to embrace her. This is the biggest scandal. It will never allow people to come up from the grassroots or from the marginalised sections, to find a place in the power structure.

Indian law makers must come out of these lynch-mob ideas and encourage a gender audit of our laws and all the institutions in order to expedite the cases of violence against women. Fast track courts are important, as also the involvement of women in our police and other public services. As parliamentarians, they cannot show helplessness when they have been given all the power. It is a clear case of evading responsibility and accountability. Expedite the process, make your executive sensitive to the issue and fix a time frame for achieving the outcome, but do not jump to the idea of mob trial and mob justice. So many innocent lives have been lost to lynch mobs and mob trials. .It is time we focus on sharpening our laws and ensuring that police and other agencies do their work efficiently and take the cases to logical conclusion in a fixed time frame work.

RELATED ARTICLES:

NHRC, Delhi High Court spring into action, pull up governments on women’s safety measures, utilisation of Nirbhaya Fund

Revisiting the Justice Verma Committee report of 2013: #JusticeForRapeVictims

Reject culture of misogyny, democratise socio-cultural spaces: #Justice4RapeVictims

Stop using rape cases for communal polarization

Haryanvi ‘Influencer’ Incites Followers To Lynch The Muslim Hyd Rape-Murder Accused

The post Violence against women – more than just a law & order problem appeared first on SabrangIndia.

‘Now, every woman knows she needs to fight violence everywhere’, the Congolese human rights activist Julienne Lusenge told me on the sidelines of the Council of Europe’s World Forum for Democracy last month.

In a video interview with openDemocracy 50.50, she talks about the struggle to end wartime sexual violence and why she appreciates the MeToo campaign. A lightly edited transcript of this conversation is below.

Nandini Archer (NA): Tell me a little about your work.
Julienne Lusenge (JL): I’m Julienne Lusenge, and I’m an activist. We support women survivors of violence in the DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo] and we promote peace in our country.

NA: What do you think is the biggest misconception, or what’s the least understood, about wartime sexual violence?
JL: I think people don’t understand why violence continues to develop in the DRC. If we don’t work for peace, to restore peace in our country, we won’t put an end to violence against women, and so we need to work for peace. 

NA: And what have been some of the biggest successes in recent years? Wartime sexual violence has been in the international news a lot.
JL: The big success is that each woman knows that she needs to fight violence, everywhere… And we saw survivors come together to fight sexual abuse.
We see young people denounce it, even if they have abuse from teachers or pressure, they denounce that. And we now see some judges engaged, to fight this violence, and we now we see our government recognise this situation.

In the past, our government did not accept to recognise that this violence is a big problem in our country. And now we see that in the world, people are coming together to say we need to fight violence.

I appreciate the campaign MeToo, because it allows each women to denounce this. In the past, people thought it’s only in poor countries, as the DRC, that violence, abuse or sexual abuse is a very big problem. Now we know that, even in America or Europe, it’s a problem. Women know that each woman, wherever she is, she can be victim – and we need to come together to fight this.

In the past, people thought it’s only in poor countries, as the DRC, that violence, abuse or sexual abuse is a very big problem. Now we know that, even in America or Europe, it’s a problem.

In the DRC, war is about resources, they come to steal our resources, and they kill us. They need to take the space; they need to push people out.

Today, in Beni, Uganda’s rebels come and kill everyone. It’s not possible. But the European people know; the European Commission knows; the USA knows; they know. The leaders in the world know, but they don’t take action.

When Ebola happened in Beni, they came and said, ‘we need to fight Ebola, we need to fight Ebola’. But people said: How can you fight only Ebola? And you don’t fight those rebels who kill us everyday. You need you to fight to rebels and to fight Ebola. So we can be in peace and go to our field and work.  

NA: And what do you feel most proud of in your work?
JL: Maybe I can give you just one example – I have many examples to give to you. Because we have today, I can show you, children who were born from rape, and today they grow; they study; they have diplomas; and they continue to study in university. Some of them have babies, today they are married, and some women who came to us as victims, today they are activists – they help themseves, and other survivors, to stand up to continue fighting.

But we aren’t finished, we continue to work; we continue to help women; we continue to mobilise money for the grassroots; and we continue to do advocacy everywhere, internationally, nationally and locally – we go to meet authorities to speak to them. When I went to the UN council, I spoke to them, I told them that they must understand that women in the DRC need peace. And we don’t need any other resolution. Now we have enough resolutions. We need just them to implement those resolutions – that can help. We have a big mission in the DRC and we need them to fight for peace. We need peace in the DRC.

We cannot understand how in the DRC women have no water, no electricity, no hospital. It’s not possible. This year, I went to a village in Beni. We gave women water; we organised that; we paid for that. Women came to me, they danced, they sang, they were very happy, because it’s the first time for them to have water in the village. Every time they went far to look for water, and rebels killed them, kidnapped them, raped them. Now they have water in the village. It gives me encouragement to continue to work, to continue to mobilise money.
We cannot understand how in the DRC women have no water, no electricity, no hospital. It’s not possible.

NA: With the increased attention to sexual violence in wartime situations, has it changed anything in terms of the money you’re receiving?
JL: We cannot say that we have enough to continue to work, because it’s not enough. We need more money, and I need donors to understand that, even if we’re Congolese organisations, we have tools to manage money and we are clever and we are able to manage this money and to give reports.

Because every time they say ‘ah grassroots organisations, Congolese organisations cannot [do this]’. But we can do that, and we do that, because every year we do audits and we have some donors who gave us money ten years ago. We have this confidence.
But I need to say to donors to believe in us and to give us money. Congolese women’s group are able to manage money and change our country… We cannot have democracy in the DRC if women do not participate at the political level. And to have women in this place, we need to support them, we need to train them, so they can be able to participate in that way.

Nandini Archer is 50.50’s editorial and social media assistant. She is an active member of the feminist direct action group Sisters Uncut. She also works with the International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion and Overseas Development Institute in London. Follow her on Twitter @nandi_naira.

* 50.50 reported from the World Forum for Democracy (WFD) events in Strasbourg as part of openDemocracy’s partnership with the 2018 WFD.
 

The post ‘Now, every woman knows she needs to fight violence everywhere’ appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Cheryl Zondi bucked the trend of rape accusers staying anonymous in South Africa. African News Agency (ANA)

Under harsh, degrading, cross examination, Zondi, a 22-year old university student, courageously faced her alleged abuser and his jeering congregants to tell her story of alleged sexual assault that started when she was 14. In coming forward to testify in open court – despite death threats and attempts to silence her – she was not just another faceless victim of sexual violence.

There are many such faceless victims. According to the Crime against Women in South Africa 2018 report, there has been a 53% increase in sexual offences against women in a short period – from 31 665 in 2015/16 to 70 813 in 2016/17. And the real numbers are probably higher; as is the case across the globe, many incidents of sexual assault go unreported. So the statistics don’t paint a full picture.

Based on the available data, the number of women raped in South Africa is 138 for 100 000 women. These numbers are among the highest in the world.

So, why don’t girls and women come forward to tell their stories of sexual assault? Research shows that the reasons are complex and influenced by a web of inter-related, social-psychological factors. These include feelings of shame and humiliation, self-blame, fear and even denial. These are influenced by the prevailing patriarchal and cultural norms of societies and communities that suppress, silence and shame these girls and women.

In a highly gender unequal and patriarchal country like South Africa, violent and entrenched masculinities legitimise men’s power over women. This exacerbates sexual violence. Naturally, women have severe anxieties about the repercussions and backlash if they speak out.

Another factor is that South Africa’s intractable history of political and gender-based violence has resulted in deep distrust of the justice system. According to Statistics SA, satisfaction in the police and the courts has continued to fall since 2013/14.
But there are indications that the tide is turning in South Africa: not only in the way women are coming forward but how people rallied around Cheryl Zondi.
 

The tide is turning

Zondi’s courage garnered the respect and overwhelming support of ordinary South Africans, the government, civil society and women’s groups. The Minister for Women in the Presidency supported her during the trial, as did the Women’s League of the governing African National Congress (ANC), among others.

Contrast this with another high profile sexual assault trial in 2006, which took a very different turn. A young woman named Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo, then known only as Khwezi accused ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma of rape.

She was vilified, marginalised and threatened by Zuma’s supporters and the ANC Women’s League turned their back on her. She was denigrated and slut-shamed by the patriarchal court system, shunned, and fled the country after the trial. Zuma was acquitted and went on to become the country’s president.

A great deal has changed in the ensuing 12 years.

Women at the country’s universities have been at the forefront of speaking out about a culture of rape on campuses, “naming and shaming” the perpetrators. This has gained momentum in the wake of the #FeesMustFall mass student movement that swept the country in 2015, demanding deep change at universities.

Survivors of campus rape want to tell their stories on their own terms. One such event was the Rape Textile, which used performance art, monologues, dance and poetry to narrate the trauma of a violent campus rape of two Nelson Mandela University students.
Higher Education and Training Minister, Naledi Pandor recently informed Parliament that 47 students had been raped on campuses in 2017 and named the institutions involved. There is an urgent need for universities to discuss the ways in which to address sexual assault and rape on campuses.
 

Fighting gender-based violence

Strategies to fight gender-based violence must educate society about why and in what ways sexual violence affects everyone. Men’s voices are critical in the fight and, here, role models are especially important. South African campaigns should also look at holding the public accountable for preventing gender-based violence.

Technology is a game changer in fighting gender-based violence in the 21st century – think of the powerful #MetToo and #WhyIDidn’tReport and other social media campaigns. But technologies like safety apps and global hashtags that include shared text messages, pictures and videos in private groups must be made more accessible to all South African women.

The availability of economical, lightweight mobile technologies could empower South African girls and women to share their stories and name their perpetrators. It is not only prevention but prosecution that is pivotal in getting justice for the country’s women.

Lyn Snodgrass, Professor and Head of Department of Political and Conflict Studies, Nelson Mandela University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The post Survivors of sexual violence in South Africa are finally finding their voices appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Rehana Gulzar (Photo credit: Umar Parra)

The victim sustained grievous burn injuries according to the doctors. Although she was rushed to a nearby hospital on Saturday, she soon died of her injuries. The doctors said that she had sustained 100% burn injuries.

The family members of deceased alleged that she was murdered by her in-laws. They said that she was married eight years ago and ever since was continuously being harassed. “She was tortured and harassed by her in-laws from the day first of her marriage over petty issues, they have burned her alive today as she was preparing to shift to her newly-constructed house,” Iqbal Ahmad, a brother of Rehana said while talking to TwoCircle.net.

However, Rehana’s in-laws refuted the allegations saying that she had committed suicide. Rehana Gulzar was married to Lateef Ahmad Baba of Ahm-e-Sharief in 2009. They have three kids and Rehana was working as Head Nurse in the Department of Health.  Meanwhile, the police have started an investigation into the case. “So far, all the accused in-laws have been arrested. Let us see what comes out,” SHO Bandipora Syed Gazanfur added.

Meanwhile, scores of employees from Health Department staged a protest at Gulshan Chowk Bandipora, demanding justice for their colleague. Employees while displaying placards reading “Justice for Rehana”, “Hang the Culprits”, shouted slogans demanding capital punishment to the perpetrators.

“Our colleague was burnt by her in-laws. We have carried out this protest rally to demand justice for our colleague. A CBI inquiry should be carried out in this case and justice be delivered to her,” demanded Fayaz Ahmad, a protesting health employee.
 

Photo: Umar Parra
 

Courtesy: Two Circles

The post Woman allegedly burnt alive by in-laws in North Kashmir appeared first on SabrangIndia.

They adopted a resolution to confront and change the state of affairs and said that they will not be silenced by the BJP-RSS promoted culture of fear and standing up for equality and basic rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Brinda Karat, the patron of AIDWA and leader of the women’s movement spoke on the challenges before women in the current political situation. The rally was presided over by Malini Bhattacharya (President) and was addressed by Subhashini Ali (Vice President) and Asha Sharma (Delhi State Secretary), among others. The Resolution of the rally was placed by Mariam Dhawale (General Secretary).

Men and women gave heart rending testimonies of the struggles for justice for victims of gender based violence. The Kathua victim’s lawyer Deepika Rajput shared her struggles about the professional abuse and political consequences she had to face in Kathua case. Similarly, Mahesh Singh Makkhi (the uncle of the Unnao victim and a petitioner in the case) talked about how he fears for his life and security of his family. The impact of social conservatism and the violence associated with it was narrated by Saroj (the mother in law of the honour killing victim) from Haryana. Cases of political violence and victimization were narrated by Swapna Ghosh of West Bengal and Vinita Choudhury from Tripura. The struggles on food security were narrated by Lahani Dauda from Maharashtra, whereas struggles on right to work were narrated by Santro from the Anganwadi Mothers’ group in Haryana, Poonam (a domestic worker from Noida, NCR) and MNREGA worker from Bihar.
 
AIDWA, in its note issued before the protest said, “The frightening regularity with which women and young girls are subjected to violence and abuse in various parts of the country, is a matter of serious concern. Gang-rape, abduction, physical and mental abuse, torture of various kinds, threats of killing and rape are not isolated incidents. Instead they are a part of the larger systemic problem. Concerted efforts have been made in the recent past by certain political groups to show women their ‘true place’. With the political patronage of the BJP-RSS, there has definitely been a spurt in the number and brutality of such incidents against women.”

Their note highlighted that though the prime agenda of the BJP in 2014 general elections was said to be ‘women’s safety’ the assault on women continued unabated.

The note drew attention to a report by the child rights NGO CRY in the month of April 2018 that had stated that a sexual offence is committed against a child in India every 15 minutes. The report had also drawn attention to the fact that almost 75,000 cases of the rape of women and children were registered in 2016. And that there has been an 82% spike in the rape of children from 2015 to 2016
Moreover, the note added, the Thompson Reuters Foundation report too ranked India the most dangerous country for women in terms of human trafficking, including sex slavery and domestic servitude, and for customary practices such as forced marriage, stoning and female infanticide.

It drew attention to the failures of the Modi regime in being able to fulfill all its promises, “The Modi regime promised two crore jobs per year, but has not provided jobs to even two lakh per year. In our country where more than 10 lakh job-seekers enter the job market every month, unemployment is at its highest, and women’s work participation rate is the lowest since Independence. 77 per cent of the households in the country have no regular wage/salaried person. According to the Labor Bureau, unemployment rate among the graduate youths (18 to 29 years) increased from 28 per cent to 35 per cent between 2014 and 2015. In addition, demonetisation has resulted in the loss of 90 lakh jobs between October 2016 and October 2017.”

Though the BJP government promised to control price rise but in fact prices of essential commodities are skyrocketing and the public distribution system is reportedly as per the reports coming in from all quarters. In fact the mandatory linkage of Aadhaar and the elimination of beneficiaries are resulting in starvation deaths.

Moreover, it said that the BJP and “fascistic” RSS have been unleashing terror by spreading caste and communal hatred and violence, with mob lynchings becoming “the order of the day”.

Not only this, that the extra-constitutional and self-appointed vigilante groups are having a free rein and roaming scot free after “killing people with impunity.” AIDWA accused that such people have received tacit support from their ‘political masters.’

Outlining these challenges, AIDWA had given the call for the protest today, on September 4 against increasing violence and brutality against women, especially girl children, growing unemployment, food security, the grim issue of starvation and malnutrition and the escalating communal and casteist attacks.

The rally was directed against the anti-women and anti-people policies of the BJP-RSS regime led by Modi.
 

The post Thousands of women under AIDWA’s leadership brave rains to protest BJP’s anti-women, anti-people policies appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Since Nirbhaya, rape has been at the centre-stage of public attention and anger – some of the media outlets have even started campaigns against rape while some others are more specific paying special attention to child rapes. This also helps the TRPs of many of these channels and every time an incident is reported – middle class is outraged – many times coming out on the street, sometimes even beating up and ostracizing the rapists publicly. There have been multiple outcomes of this attention – including changes in the law to assuage popular outrage – death penalty for certain kinds of rape is one of the changes. There have also been some positive changes in the law that has seen the inclusion of a variety of actions that were previously excluded that were brought within the scope of rape, inclusion of new acts of sexual assault as crimes, the process of investigation becoming more friendly at least on paper, making the character of the victim non relevant and so on. The change in law has seen special emphasis on the rape and sexual abuse of children!

One glaring lapse in all this overhauling of law is the lack of accountability of law enforcement officers. Very often rape complaints and investigations get delayed because of the lethargy or collusion of law enforcement officers and there aren’t provisions to sufficiently punish such officials for not discharging their duties. In the Panchkula gang rape case, the local police refused to register a complaint – and the survivor had to travel to Chandigarh before she could file a complaint. In rape and most sexual abuse cases, the investigation immediately after the incident is very crucial in collecting evidence and building a case against the accused. Any delay compromises the investigation apart from the mental trauma and lack of trust that the survivor has to undergo. At best these officers are suspended pending departmental enquiry, while what is needed is strict legal sanctions that will ensure that they will not shirk in their duty. Interestingly there hasn’t been much attention focused demanding that this gap be closed.

Despite all this attention, outrage and laws – nothing has changed. Rapes in general and of minors continue unabated in the most grotesque forms and media and social media are filled with graphic details of these. So, what exactly is going wrong?

The first problem as I see is that mostly rape is seen as an offence against the reputation and honor of an individual, family, community or institution and not as an offence against the bodily integrity of the person who has been raped – which includes the right of the person who has been raped to express her sexuality in whichever way she pleases. Since people are obsessed with reputation and honor, they prefer incidents of rape to be swept under the carpet as far as possible unless it becomes so violent and traumatic that willingly and unwillingly it gets exposed. In many rape and sexual violence cases, people close to and trusted by the survivor/victim are also complicit in the process of rape/abuse sometimes by their unwillingness to listen, sometimes by their eagerness to hide the incident, sometimes by their silence and sometimes by their silencing the victim. The result being endless guilt and shame for the victim and most incidents of rape and sexual abuse not being offended.

The second big problem that I see is the generalized painting of rapists as the “other”. In the reportage of most rape incidents when the rape accused are from working class or castes from Nirbhaya to the recent Chennai gang rape – the identity location of the accused is reminded over and over again – in what can be even read as a bizarre invocation of the other as the rapists. Whereas in cases where the accused is from dominant caste or class like the recent Panchkula gang rape case, the media and discussions are completely mute on their identity locations. This has created a general fear of the other as the usual rapist – which goes against all research that in most cases rapists aren’t strangers, but people known to the victims and in many cases rapes aren’t reported because of this. This also glosses over the fact that rapes are prevalent across class barriers making it appear as if rape is a working class/caste obsession. People are thereby taught to be on guard against the lesser danger of the outsider than the greater danger of the insider.

The third problem is a word that is conspicuous by its absence – patriarchy! Except in minimal circles, no one seems to want to acknowledge the connection between rape and the patriarchal need for ownership of women’s bodies. Patriarchy is so entrenched that there is a large part of the Indian society which refuses to recognize the possibility of rape within marriage – in other words that a woman doesn’t have the right of consent in a marital relationship and this view has been echoed by the judiciary. Patriarchy is so entrenched that a Delhi High Court Judge Justice Ashuthosh Kumar acquitted Mohammed Farooqui – a rape accused on the grounds that a “feeble no could mean yes” – thereby taking away the agency of the survivor to say no. Even in sexual abuses fuelled by caste or communal hatred – like Khairlanji or Kathua – the underlying reason is the idea of insulting the masculinity of the community being targeted – thereby sending them a message that they would have to undergo the worst form of punishment if they don’t toe the interests of the dominant community.

It is in this context that the sexual predator gains confidence and is emboldened about the vulnerability of the victim and finds the impunity to go ahead with her/his act – for s/he knows that the risks of getting exposed are next to minimal forget being investigated, tried and punished.
What is the way out then? It is to catch the bull by its horns. Force the discourse setters to change the discourse from one that revolves around shame, guilt, honour and reputation to one that focuses on the right to body and bodily integrity. Set the discourse straight and acknowledge the threat of sexual violence from known people. Talk about patriarchy, sex and sexuality to children – not in hush-hush or apologetic terms, but in bold, open manner – assure them that there is nothing to feel guilty about their bodies and protest if anyone whosoever it may be transgresses their bodily integrity – that they should protest and protest loudly. Make it part of their formal school curriculum. Stop voyeuristic poring over the gory details of rape and molestation and start talking about the forces that create the environment of impunity
It is definitely a long journey, but if not undertaken – the rape culture will continue unabated!

Bobby Kunhu is a practising lawyer and activist

First Publish on Kafila.online

The post Some Reflections on Rape in India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The critics included National Commission for Women (NCW) which has raised questions on its sampling methodology. The Central Government has argued that this is an ‘effort to malign the country’.  The response on the Indian side is that of a denial. It is unwilling to see its mirror reflection. Shefali Vaidya, the BJP MP also went on the say that ‘few countries are as safe as India’.  The defenders of the national pride while on the one hand are in a ‘rejection mode’, on the other hand forget the fact that the nation also constitutes its half population which is made up of female gender.

Without getting into ‘correctness of ranking’, it is important to look into the issue and inquire if India is really becoming safer for Women. Two days after the release of the report, Mandasur in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh witnessed media coverage over the rape of an eight year old girl child. India had not even recovered from the violence that was inflicted on Asifa, the eight year old girl child in Kathua. Similar incidents were also reported from Surat in Gujarat, Mainpuri and Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, Nagaon district in Assam and Indore in Madhya Pradesh in 2018. According to a report by Child Relief and you, ‘sexual violence is committed against a child in India every 15 minutes’.

According to the National Crime Report Bureau statistics 2016, the reported cases of child trafficking victims were 763, incidents of selling minors for prostitution were 135 and victims of child rape were 19,920. These were the reported cases for 2015-16. It is to be remembered large number of cases do not get reported at the police stations.

No effort in the direction of legislative actions, judicial decisions, strengthening of law enforcement machinery, social boycott seems to be putting an end to this deadly cancer. The disease of rape and sexual violence is so ingrained in Indian society that it does not have an age. Right from an infant, child, adolescent, young, middle aged to an old – everyone seems to be unsafe. It does not have a relation. Reports on violence against women indicate that the biggest inflictors of violence also include own family members, relatives, neighbors and working spaces.

The social conscience of the Nation seems to be accepting this as a new ‘normal’. The nation which projects itself as respecting ‘women’ and ‘Bharatiya nari’ is nowhere in reality close to respecting women-hood. Having a set of female goddesses ‘Durga, Laxmi, Saraswati’ doesn’t make the Indian society a women friendly and gender sensitive society. The culture of having female goddesses at the most provides a justification of how the society treats its women. It hides the reality of what happens within families, communities and nationhood.

The patriarchal culture is so ingrained in Indian society that women end up incorporating them from their birth itself. If the girl child is able to escape ‘female infanticide’, then in the process of growing up she is taught how to behave, how to talk, what to dress, where to go and not go. The decisions in each stage of life are taken by men. An independent identity of women goes unrecognized. The child ends up listening to the stories of ‘sita’ and ‘savitri’ and ‘sati’ and ‘jauhar’ where female identity is subordinated to male identity.

While women tend to be victims, the burden-hood of prestige falls on the women. It is only through projecting that women are safe that the prestige of family, community and nation are glorified and defended. Hence it is not surprising that they become ‘ghar ki ijjat’ (prestige of family), ‘samaj ki ijjat’ (prestige of community) and ‘desh ki ijjat’ (prestige of nation). While family inflicts violence it comes with its narrative of family prestige falling on women. While community inflicts violence, the khap or samaj panchayats puts the burden of prestige on women. The same happens with the nation.

The stated position of ‘defenders of national pride’ needs to be seen in this light. For them, the naming of India as the most unsafe place for women in the world hurts the ‘national soul’ or the ‘national prestige’. Hence the strong need to reject the report and justify why the nation is safe for women. Just as family and community does not recognize aspects of violence against women, so too the nation. A society which really feels the need to make itself safe and equal for women should dump the word of ‘prestige’ as it only covers up for the patriarchal structures and culture prevalent within.

Jayashubha is a post graduate in Organic Chemistry. She is interested in Gender and Social issues.

The post Women’s Safety in India and National Pride: Reuters Foundation Report appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Across urban (47%) and rural (40%) areas, young girls reported feeling more susceptible to molestation or abuse while using public transport, said the report, Wings 2018: World Of India’s Girls, released by Save The Children in India, an international non-governmental organisation. This finding was particularly true for girls from higher income groups (53%), belonging to the other backward classes (OBC) and general castes (45%), according to the study
 
Girls from medium and small towns (51%) reported feeling more unsafe than those in large cities (44%), small villages (42%) and large villages (39%).
 
“A possible reason [for greater fear among adolescent girls of higher income groups] could be that these girls lead a more cocooned life without the required level of resilience and therefore feel relatively more threatened,” the study said.
 
India is considered to be the least safe country in the world for women with the worst record for sexual violence, harassment from cultural and traditional practices, and human trafficking, according to a global perception poll carried out by Thomson Reuters Foundation, IndiaSpend reported on June 26, 2018. A failure to improve conditions led to the country now ranking the most dangerous for women, after it ranked fourth in the previous poll of 2011.
 
Conducted across six states–Assam, Delhi-National Capital Region, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and West Bengal–the adolescent girls’ perception report covers the east, west, north, south, central and north-east of India, surveying across 30 cities and 84 villages in 12 districts. The sample included 3,128 adolescent girls, 1,141 young men (aged 15-18), 248 young women (aged 19-22) forced to marry early, and 842 parents of adolescent girls.
 
Within their respective regions, the selected states performed worst on child sex ratio; incidence of crime against women; early marriage; spousal violence against women; and working women, the report said.
 
After public transportation, narrow roads leading to school, local markets or private tuition were regarded as most unsafe. Young women belonging to scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) from lower income households found these areas particularly unsafe.
 
Over a quarter of young women from large cities (28%), especially those from low income groups and slums, said they felt unsafe in cinema halls, the study found.
 
“A plausible explanation for this could be that these girls from the slums or the economically weaker section fear that their complaints may go unheard in a place occupied by the relatively better placed–class wise and caste wise,” the study observed. “Maybe for similar reasons, SC and ST girls find the school and the road to the school more unsafe compared to general caste and OBC girls.”
 
Girls least likely to report molestation/abuse to police or teachers
 
In urban and rural areas, girls reported feeling most comfortable confiding in their mother, father, close friends and peers, if subjected to molestation or abuse in public. They were less likely to confide in siblings and other relatives and least likely to approach teachers, other school staff and the local police.
 
“Besides, adolescent girls, their parents and brothers felt that finally it is the ‘name’ of the family and the girl which will be negatively affected–providing an iteration of ‘family honour’ that accompanies girls and women,” the report observed, describing a “trust deficit” with policing and judicial systems.
 
“Most of them were against going to the police because they (the police) were considered insensitive. It is also perceived that the process involves lot of time and resources and, in the end, damages the reputation of the girl.”
 
Girls avoided confiding in families because they feared restrictions on leaving home; this was more in urban (49%) than rural (36%) areas.
 
The second-most reported reason for not confiding in their families was fear of retribution, the report found; 44% of urban adolescent girls and 38% rural girls felt they would be scolded for “letting” themselves be harrassed.

 
 
Over 50% of parents agreed that they would “probably end up scolding their daughters” for “letting” sexual harassment occur, while 42% admitted they were likely to regulate their daughters’ movement in public spaces thereafter, the study found.
 
Less than half of India’s girls leave home to meet friends, take morning walks, play in parks
 
Generally, more urban than rural young girls and women used public spaces, the report said.
 
For urban and rural areas, “going to school” was the most universally accepted safe public space (96%) for girls, the study found. Attending private tuition–significantly higher for urban (54%) than rural (32%) residents–followed.
 
After public transportation, local markets, private tuitions or roads leading to school were regarded as most unsafe among young girls, as we said.
 
Less than half of adolescent girls in urban areas (41%) could go out to meet friends; in rural areas, no more than a third of girls (34%) could.
 
Among adolescent girls surveyed in urban areas, only a fifth or 20% felt they could safely play in a public park or go for a morning walk; no more than 15% of girls in rural areas felt similarly.

 
 
Young girls also perceived a higher risk of molestation and other gender-related crimes at crowded public places, such as local markets in urban (41%) and rural areas (37%).
 
Here too, young women from higher and middle-economic classes (42%), belonging to the OBC/general castes (40%), reported a higher perception of risk.
 
Despite the fear of narrow roads leading to schools, private tuitions and markets, over 80% of young girls preferred walking to these public areas than using public transport, the study found. Cycling also emerged as a popular choice among adolescent girls in small and medium towns, where traffic is lower and perception of risk in using public transport was highest, as we said.
 
“The sample selected was not representative of a pan-India picture but aimed to assist studying in depth the prevailing perceptions on the issue of safety of girls in public spaces, the related dynamics and implications,” the report said.
 
(Saldanha is an assistant editor with IndiaSpend.)

Courtesy: India Spend
 

The post India’s Richest Young Women Fear Public Transport Most; Poorest Fear Cinema Halls appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Two young women from the Zindagii Shoista project. Photo: Aziz Sattori.

I first met Farzona a couple of years ago, when she joined a violence prevention project that I have been working on. In her mid-30s at the time, she suffered from severe headaches and anxiety after years of domestic abuse and malnutrition.

Now, Farzona says she has a full dastarkhan’(table of bread) and never struggles to feed her family. She has her own small bakery business and says that her relationship with her husband is now much better as they are both focused on trying to earn money.
Farzona is one of many of women whose family life has radically improved thanks to a new international aid-funded programme called Zindagii Shoista (Tajik for ‘living with dignity’) which takes a holistic approach to preventing domestic violence by addressing family relationships and ways to earn money, involving both men and women of different generations.

Zindagii Shoista was informed by research which revealed the extent of violence and discrimination experienced by many young, married Tajik women at the hands of their husbands and in-laws, often in the context of rural poverty.

This project was funded by UK aid, but led by civil society groups – the global peace-building organisation International Alert, and the human rights NGO CESVI, alongside their partners in Tajikistan FARODIS and Women of the Orient.

The 18-month programme showed that when families work together to address gender imbalances at home, and find new ways to make money, it can have a genuine, positive, long-term impact on household earnings, food security, and violence against women.
Microfinance initiatives, cash transfer programmes and poverty reduction initiatives to end violence against women are not new, and they are not effective in all situations. But family-based projects like this one in Tajikistan achieve surprisingly positive results within relatively short periods of time.

Through the course of the project, the percentage of women reporting intimate partner violence halved and food insecurity for women reduced by two-thirds.

Through the course of the programme, the percentage of women reporting intimate partner violence halved. Food insecurity for women reduced by two-thirds, and the proportion of women earning money increased fourfold. Meanwhile, reports of depression in women nearly halved and depression in men more than halved. 

This complex family-based programme tackled two critical factors that lead to violence against women and girls: patriarchal social norms and practices, and poverty.

Zindagii Shoista beneficiaries at the spring craft market in Dushanbe. Photo: Rachel Jewkes.

Zindagii Shoistawe’s success was thanks to its careful design, strong foundation of research evidence, and coherent theory of how change happens. It was rooted in gender and power theories, adapted for the Tajik situation, which is one of several contexts in which older women join men in oppressing young women.

Most projects to prevent violence against women through their economic empowerment have not worked with men to change their violent behaviour.

Instead, they have focused on strengthening women’s sense of self, providing values clarification and sisterly support. The availability of money as a result of these projects has also reduced conflict in the home – and being able to pay for things has elevated women’s status in the family.
But, while ‘sisters doing it for themselves’ is an appealing idea, it does not address the fundamental reality that violence against women is perpetrated in order to sustain patriarchal power relations.

While ‘sisters doing it for themselves’ is an appealing idea, it does not address the fundamental reality that violence against women is perpetrated in order to sustain patriarchal power relations.

Women’s economic empowerment projects may alter power dynamics family by family, by changing the position of women in the home. But we know little or nothing of the long-term, societal impact of these interventions.

In a recent South African study, cash transfers (direct payments of money) to teenage girls were shown to delay dating and thus their exposure to potential intimate partner violence.

But dating is rarely delayed for very long, and it’s hard to know whether the ‘protective effect’ of such projects will be sustained. Projects like this don’t even try to change ideas about gender equality. If this happens, it’s an often untracked side-effect.  

What happens when the cash transfers programme ends? When the microloans company folds or moves to other villages? What happens to the daughters and sons of women in these economic empowerment projects, and whether they experience domestic violence?

Violence against women is pervasive, but it can end. Projects like Zindagii Shoista, that involve both men and women, are more likely to have the greatest long-term benefit. In Rwanda, the Indashyikirwa project works with couples to reduce violence in this historically-traumatised population, and has also had impressive, positive results.

For lasting change, it is best to work with both men and women to prevent violence. We know this from research and experience. But whether this knowledge can be put into practice depends on whether we can garner real political commitment – and whether national governments, and international donors, will come to the table with the substantial investment that is required.

Rachel Jewkes has led research on violence against women at the South African Medical Research Council for over two decades. She is the director of the UK Department for International Development-funded “What works to prevent violence against women and girls?” global programme and secretary of the Sexual Violence Research Initiative.

Courtesy: https://www.opendemocracy.net

The post To end violence against women we must tackle patriarchy – and poverty appeared first on SabrangIndia.