Create the change..

The big fat controversy of this week-the interview of the infamous Delhi rapist on the documentary ‘India’s Daughter’. Oh the irony, with Women’s Day coming up..! Ban beef, ban the documentary… Looks like our government is on a futile banning spree. I quickly caught up with the video last night, before it is blocked on the internet too. (which is likely to happen very soon!)

The public is raging (atleast on social media). We want him killed.. He’s no human.. Hang them all in public.. The lawyers should be punished too for making such derogatory comments..! We need stricter laws! The comments are endless.

A deeper issue

While the crime itself is heinous, the appalling lack of remorse is what is alarming. I was shocked to see him narrating the entire incident with absolutely no guilt. The problem is larger than this particular case. He’s not alone. His interview reflects the mindset of millions of other narrow minded Indian men. It is said that the misogyny and recent rise in crime is because women are more independent now and certain men are unable to accept this fact. Mukesh Singh is on a death sentence and will be hanged soon. But what about the million others with the same mindset? If a woman is independent, she is termed as ‘loose’ and deserves to be ‘taught a lesson.’ Now let’s remember, THESE men are not only in the slums or villages. They may equally hail from the elite crowd, holding high positions. Remember the politicians who stir up a controversy now and then, with their ‘blame-the-victim’ comments? Or the high profile abuse cases! Or the lawyers themselves in this case. They can be one of us too!

Start from the root

What made these rapists think that their action is right, without the slightest guilt? The society and the system! Men who cannot respect or hold women in high regard are those who have witnessed abuse and those who have been taught that women are inferior. The father who abuses the mother is responsible. The mother who puts up with the abuse is equally responsible too. Every one of us is responsible. The discrimination is all around us.. Only if that ends, will these crimes against women end.  

• Dowry system has to be curbed. When that ends, bringing up a daughter will no more be considered a burden. Female infanticide will end there too. All you men out there yelling on face book against those rapists, take note. You are responsible too!
• Education needs to be given top priority. Kerala’s high sex ratio is a result of its high literacy rate. Government schools need to be revived. We need more schools for the poor, than freeTVs. Give the poor parents an incentive for sending the children to school. It will result in a larger attendance. Also, teachers should be trained to consciously avoid all gender discriminations.
• From the law’s perspective, the cases need to be fast-tracked. ALL cases, not just the rarest of the rare.. Politicians who make humiliating remarks must be suspended. Khap panchayats who impose rules on women should be banned. The government should not turn a blind eye to such self-proclaimed governing bodies.
• Since movies influence general public, filmmakers should make responsible movies. And no, I am not talking about the actresses’ clothes or dance moves-let them be. The emphasis should be on the roles they play. Powerful roles should be given to women, not just an arm candy for the action hero. And filmmakers should stop making movies where the heroine is depicted as modern and outgoing in the first half and then falls in love and becomes a saree clad homemaker  in the second half. It sends wrong signals-as if girls are easy and only the sindoor-saree draped housewife is a good woman.
• The educated class needs to wake up too. Telling ‘boys don’t cry’ or ‘girls prefer dolls to cars’ are hidden gender discriminations. Even though they’re small scale, they will have a bigger impact on the society at large. I was watching a cartoon with my nephew last week. The kids in the cartoon were playing basketball. I was taken aback by a boy’s dialogue “Oh I don’t want to lose to a girl!’ WHY!!!! Now you know where the problem begins!

No doubt it is a very long process but we need to start now. India’s daughter is dead. Let us save at least the granddaughter!