One more
gang-rape – this time in Mumbai! It once again brought back memories of the
horrific Delhi incident of December last year! The whole country – physically and
in the social media- is going atwitter with laments of the state of affairs and
calls for stricter punishment, some going to extremes to say we should
introduce ‘Shariaa’ laws in India! But, stepping back from the immediacy of
this case, it seems strange to me that all this outpouring of disgust and
revulsion seems to be reserved for cases emanating from India’s Metros, where
the victim is an educated and or upwardly mobile, hard working young woman. While
deplorable, these are only two cases out of hundreds in the past 8-months. There
have been umpteen cases, before and after the Delhi case. And these are happening
all over the country. The people who are taking to the streets and the social
media clearly identify with these victims as one of their own. And it is
admirable that the spotlight that is cast on these cases, is causing the law
enforcement agencies to up their act and be seen to be taking action. But what
about those hundreds of rapes and gang-rapes – some where the victims are as
young as 4-yrs old? Who is shedding a tear for them or pushing the administration
to bring the culprits to justice?
That apart,
are stricter laws (death penalty or ‘castration’ as the reference to Shariaa
law seems to suggest) the solution? What about the efficacy with which the law
enforcement machinery is able to bring a case to court, try the accused and
prove them guilty beyond reasonable doubt and mete out the appropriate punishment?
What eventually is a good deterrent? A strict law or stricter enforcement? We
have the death penalty for murder –in extreme, ‘rarest of the rare’ cases! But
has that meant that we have no murders? What is the conviction rate? What is
the speed with which successful convictions happen? It’s been 8-months since
the Delhi gang-rape. And the case is being tried in a ‘Fast Track court’. Under
what definition is ‘8-months and counting’ Fast? Why is about 40% of the police
force engaged in protecting VIPs? What if India were to have a full blown
economic crisis like the one in Punjab, where the State Government is
apparently unable to pay salaries of policemen among other government employees?
These are disturbing questions for which I don’t have the answers.
I noticed
that some of the comments on Facebook and other social media ask the question: “What
makes men turn into such devils?” or “our culture is all about respect for
women- they are symbolized by our mother or sisters Why then do some men treat
women with such contempt and violate their inner persona”. These are definitely
good questions for psychologists to attempt to answer. But I have a theory and
it has to do with the way societal morals have changed over time. Our cinema,
like all of show biz, now promotes promiscuity like never before! Senseless
Item numbers like ‘Sheela Ki Jawaani” and “Munni Badnaam Hui” only glamorize
the vamp. Most of us watch such movies for three hours, get back to our lives
and think nothing more about it. But there must be a lumpen element out there
who possibly are not able to distinguish between the make-believe world of cinema
and the real world. These are the people who actually believe that Shah Rukh
Khan / Rajnikant can single-handedly smash 20 sword wielding guys to pulp! For
these people such item numbers only help to reinforce years of cultural power
stereo type of male supremacy and convey the message: “It is okay to look upon women as objects!” From there it is a downhill slope – beginning with
staring at women, passing lewd comments, grabbing various parts of the anatomy
of women in crowded places and in some cases, rape. I am not saying that cinema is the main
factor in the ‘objectification’ of women. I use it as an example for one of the players along
with other elements like the fashion world, the ad-world ( the way products for
‘fair skin’ are pushed) and also factors like illiteracy and unemployment.
Any comments
are welcome.
