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Why Girls Get Raped In Delhi

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I live in a PG, close to college, because my house is slightly far and the travel is inconvenient. It took me a lot of explaining and convincing to get my parents to let me live separately. They’ve always been very protective and wary of the how unsafe Delhi is. But over the past month it feels like something has changed. I don’t think they’re wary anymore. I think they’re more scared than they ever were. And somehow its not just them, its everyone. Considering how ruthless people seem to have become, nobody wants to take “risks”. I’m used to traveling alone at night with my girl-friends. But over the past few weeks, every time we talk about it, there’s an eerie, uncomfortable feeling. It’s almost like it’s not the same place anymore. My friends tell me they don’t feel safe traveling anymore, be it by autos, metro or even cabs, even in broad daylight. My mom doesn’t want me traveling alone in the dark, even if it’s by cabs. Everybody’s vehemently talking about justice and the need for safety, autos are coming up with panic buttons and people are actually coming out to protest about the lax cops, the need for severe punishment and upping the security levels.

Amidst all this, there remains a section of our population which will always talk about women’s safety being in their own hands. And don’t mistake this for that section which wants women empowerment through ensuring all women are capable of self defense. I’m referring to the quiet significant number of people in our Indian society who believe that it is up to a girl to not be called fast, keep safe and live a protected life, by following the very norms which socialize Indian girls into subservient dummies who are easily suppressed by their male counterparts.

It’s not uncommon to hear neighborhood aunties talk about how “she’s always wearing provocative clothes” or “always hanging around with boys”, or “goes out at night”, with smug expressions and an unsaid agreement about how the girl is calling for trouble. If “Prevention is better than Cure”, then why does Prevention here, refer to girls following a certain code of conduct in order to not be raped or harassed. Why doesn’t it apply to boys, who need to be brought up respecting women and learning to control their desires. Isn’t that what socialization should be about? Shouldn’t the babas of the world be preaching to the boys to keep it in their pants, rather than telling the girls to fall at their attackers’ feet and appeal to them as her “bhaiyas”. Shouldn’t parents be instilling morals in their sons about how a girl’s clothes are not an index to her availability, rather than telling their daughters how she’s merely going to attract attention by dressing in a way which is even slightly off the conservative Indian code of dressing – cover everything. I’m not saying that every person in our society believes in such unfair notions, but a considerable number do. The city be made safer, rather than the girls be put under curfews and restrictions.

When flipping through the channels on TV while an aunty from the neighbourhood settled herself beside me, I randomly started watching some movie called “Tanu weds Manu”. In a series of scenes where two girls were seen smoking a doobie, and drinking from time to time, aunty-ji had already declared them as being bad girls, jinse “kaun shaadi karega? inke sath sab ek hi cheez karna chahenge.” I don’t mean to advocate smoking or drinking, but I DO know for sure if these were the male actors instead of the female ones, aunty would have hardly even noticed. I wonder how in such a judgmental society, where any deviation from the “correct” code of conduct is an invitation to be violated, how can one even think about equality? We do need a hike in security measures across the city very urgently, but at the same time, we as a society need to rethink the kind of morals and values we are focusing on, and where these restrictions and norms need to be applied. Though the world didn’t end on the 21st of last month, but the utter cruelty of the case that everyone knows I’m talking about makes it look like a part of humanity did. In a culture that constantly seeks to prove itself SO rich in values and SO moralistic, one begins to wonder whether being conservative is actually synonymous with being moralistic, or maybe are we just fooling ourselves.

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Features

Satyameva Jayate-Stories to bring about change

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In the light of the horrific events that took place in New Delhi, causing it to earn the shameful title of the Rape capital of India, many protests and marches were organized to fight against the injustices faced by women across the nation. Keeping this in mind, an organization called Satyameva Jayate has been launched as a vehicle to give a voice to such women across the country. Not to be confused with the TV show of the same name, this organization aims at reaching out to the masses and giving a chance to women who have faced abuse in any form.

Satyameva Jayate is looking for women who are willing to narrate the story of their life and struggles. These stories are meant to deal with a woman’s daily life and the ordeals she faces in the Indian society. The privacy of the person who sends in the story will be respected, and the security of the bold women who are willing to open up to the public is of utmost importance. The organization is keen on taking the necessary steps in ensuring the safety of the participants as well as keeping the identity of the writers under wraps.

Send in your story to [email protected]. Even one story could be a stepping-stone for a revolution leading to much needed change.

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DUB Speak

Dancing to the beats of Yo Yo Honey Singh

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2012 was a year that saw movies and music take an experimental and innovative twist in India. From Barfi’s subtle approach towards our society’s outlook on disability, to the recognition of many more bands and upcoming artists, last year seemed to be a ray of hope in an industry mostly monopolised by lewd item songs that consisted of women gyrating to pulsating beats. Despite these differences, the scenario doesn’t seem to have changed much, as the hero is still the policeman or roadside Romeo who thinks it is his birthright to pester and bully the girl of his dreams till she unwittingly falls in love with him.

The biggest sensation that emerged last year was the Punjabi rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh. From an underground artist who was barely recognised for his work, to producing chartbusters like Angreji Beat and Mai Sharabi, this self-proclaimed ‘international villager’ has taken the bollywood music industry as well as its dhol-loving audience by storm. His song ‘Brown Rang’, which refers to the tantalizing beauty of a chocolate-skinned woman that trumps the charms of a typical blue-eyed blond, was the most trending article on YouTube by Indian viewers. Honey Singh has also been one of the most searched artists in India, following Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. Very little is left to discussion when the three most searched celebrities on the internet are those that promote brainless violence, sexual item songs and misogynist lyrics covered up by feet-tapping beats.

Honey Singh’s songs are, without doubt, highly contagious. When played at parties, very few people will be able to admit to the fact that they sat in a corner while everyone around them swayed to songs like ‘Dope shope’ and ‘High heels’. However, when we dig deep into the colourful rapper’s past, some of his earliest works consist of despicable and filthy lyrics on how to objectivise a woman during sex, including some highly violent references to please his insatiable lust.

As India is a democracy, Honey Singh’s licence to sing is a matter that cannot really be questioned. However, there do exist some disturbing realities that may not directly relate to his work, but hit on the internalization of certain beliefs over the years. Honey Singh might just be one exceptionally obvious case, yet so many others exist in the form of movie scenes and ads. Starting from Fair and lovely and Axe deodorants, even movies like Agneepath and Tees Maar Khan seem to have no use of a woman except to showcase them in sexually charged numbers like ‘Chikni Chameli’ and ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’. As toned and beautiful as the woman look, the leering men that surround them and the crude lyrics that make up the songs don’t do much to show a woman’s independence, no matter how vehemently the actresses and a majority of the audience claim that they portray this. The reality, despite its lack of materialisation into spoken words, invariably focus on what the masses seem to enjoy the most; cheap sexual thrills and an ability to gape at a woman’s body without being ostracized by the society.

Even though politicians and like-minded people seem to have woken up from their beauty sleep after the recent horrific rape case, trying to ban Honey Singh from producing more music is far from what this country needs. Just as his fans believe that he has moved from producing sexually violent songs to dance floor scorchers, blaming one man for his past isn’t going to help a society that is steeped in following practices that marginalise its women.

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Campus Central

Light a candle session at Sri Venkateswara College

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Shakti, the Women Development Cell of Sri Venkateswara College, kick started the ‘Nirbhaya week’ with a light a candle session in the college foyer on Monday, 7th January.  A unique signature campaign was also initiated which will continue through the week.

Students and teachers were asked to identify the most appropriate punishments for rapists. The suggested punishments ranged from castration and immolation, to capital punishment and life term. While the students seemed divided on the issue, the teachers were fairly unanimous in their support for life term. There were still others who believed that punishments should be decided on a case by case basis. The participants signed petitions to confirm their respective stands.

The members of Shakti were quite pleased with the response and announced further activities to be held during the week. A slogan writing competition on Tuesday will be followed by a poster making competition on Wednesday. On Thursday an essay writing competition will be held on the topic ‘Agar aurat surakshit nahi to kya purush hain?’.

‘It’s time Indian women learned not to depend on men for their protection’, opined one of the participants.

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DUB Speak

What, me feminist?

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Ignorance is quite captivating sometimes, its implications often deserve adequate ruminations regardless of whether they happen to be blissful or not. Of all the not so recent news in the North Indian world, what has recently got my goat is the blatant idiocy in the guise of tradition and honour. Now, harmless idiocy is harmless enough but the victimized women in these cases would surely testify it is anything but that. I wouldn’t call myself a feminist but I do agree with their fundamental belief, i.e. all women and men are equal, and their primary cause, to make this true in practise. Call me an idiot but there is no thing as a better sex, just better individuals if you must. For every Medha Patkar there is a Mayawati, and for every Manmohan Singh there is an Advani. Anyhow, lets come back to those two particularly fascinating headlines directly quoted from a couple of priggish village elders. One was regarding what you might now call ancient news, the Noida gang rape case; the geriatric bugger’s view of the grim situation was remarkably simple, “She was just raped, so what?” For a minute, the optimist in me pondered if it could be an error in translation, but then I had to rule out the possibility since the words were too crisp to seem inaccurate; there was no corrigendum over the week. This view was allegedly shared by most of the village; in their opinion, their boys had done no wrong, and they just might be right on this one. The throes of passion notwithstanding are these boys really to blame, having been brought up in such a society where the concept of the modesty of a woman is entirely foreign? Or take the recent Francis Gomes case. Even insanity tends to have a purpose and rationale, however crazy it might be. One could argue that all he did was take the notions of honour and security to an extremely obsessive and somewhat paranoiac level, right?

Then there was the other headline, “Only whores choose their partners”, this one coming from the Chaudhary of a Khap Panchayat. I would hate to contest his wisdom of years, but isn’t it the other way round? Either way, the point is clear, that with such regressive values ingrained in our society we cannot hope to easily overcome these atrocities that are doled out in alarming frequency. Protesting at Jantar Mantar might sound like a noble thing to do but the end result? At the most, you’ll get your picture printed in the next day’s newspaper complete with a profound placard in hand. Condemning such happenings from the comfort of our safe homes is easy, as this article itself might testify. However, if you happen to take it to a further activist level by actually going to these red zones and trying to change things around, may the Gods save your life and might they also punish you for your utter foolishness. These unreasonable and uncivilized practises have been going on and they would go on, and the only plausible way to counter them is, yes, you know it, education! Will Durant said, “Education is a progressive discovery of our ignorance”. It is this self-realization, which then leads to the acquisition of a reasonable temperament and consequently an atmosphere of change.

As the most fundamental principle of Economics goes, resources are limited but wants are not; we must make some compromises, particularly for being a developing nation. Instead of specializations and higher education, the focus must be inclined more towards improving quality of basic education for the masses. We are already producing enough engineers, doctors, lawyers and intellectuals; and yet the female half of the population continues to live in jeopardy even in areas that come under the label of ‘National Capital Region’. Come to think of it, we cannot even afford to employ such retrogressive methods on either side, for it would only further dampen our growth. Maybe we don’t need all those bulletproof planes and precision missiles that could pierce a baby’s bottom from three hundred miles away, or wait, maybe we do not need to make these compromises after all! Our netas are supposedly on an austerity drive, they wouldn’t be flying first class except in ‘certain’ cases. I guess austerity like everything else is relative, isn’t it?

“India Shining”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Incredible India”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Your ass may belong to Levis, but your soul belongs here”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

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