When she lies dying

 

By: Bhavan Meitei

“The violence of rape and harassment offends human dignity; crushes and breaks human beings. It is time for people to stand up united and demand the amendment of the archaic rape laws in the country!”

Barely three months after the horrifying gang rape incident of a paramedical student in a public bus in New Delhi on December 16th, another incident has shocked the nation. And this time, it is the rape of a five-year old child.

When the news of the brutality meted to the five year old burst out, widespread protests and emotional outbursts spontaneously erupted across the nation again, with women and men demanding safety and protection of girls; a change in attitudes towards women; and a change of archaic gender laws and speedy justice to bring rapists to book. But, this is not the only incident after the December 16th case. In Delhi alone, around 350 cases were reported during this short span of time.

In the Northeast region, which is considered as a safer place for women (by history), reports of crime against women are rising in recent times. The Guwahati molestation case in the heart of city last year; alleged mass rape by a Manipuri insurgent group, molestation of an actress by a banned Naga outfit in public; rising rape cases in ‘matrilineal’ Meghalaya; and recent murder case of a lady doctor in Manipur shows the region is no different from the rest of the country. It seems that the moral wall which shields the  North-East States from the rest of the country when it comes to such incidence has finally been brought down!

Historically, the  North-East region has the history of  women’s waging war against the imperial British rule. The region also houses the only women’s market in Southeast Asia and incidentally is also the largest in the category. Unlike other states in the country there is little restriction in women participating in community services and musical concerts. But it has, and the people should admit that the region has the tendency to suppress the fairer sex, and it has all the vices that has come to define the country when it comes to women - the cases of female foeticide, domestic violence, mental and physical torture of women, dowry death or harassment, public humiliation and trafficking!

In the national scenario, since 2012, the National Crime Record Bureau statistics show crimes against women has increased by 7.1 percent. There has been a rise in the number of incidents of rape recorded too. In 2011, 24,206 incidents were recorded, a rise of 9 percent from the previous year. Further, the report said, more than half of the victims are between 18 and 30 years of age. The north eastern state of Tripura recorded the highest rate of crimes against women at 37 percent, compared to the national crime rate of 18.9 percent.

Crimes that include eve-teasing, harassment, heckling and sexual innuendoes against women in public places including streets, public transport and places along with the rape of minors and women in tribal and villages often go unreported and unrecorded. And, due to family honour many complaint files are withdrawn and in many cases the police do not give a fair hearing to these grievances.

In our society, ‘masculinity’ provides an ideological basis for impunity to be legitimised and practiced.  And crime against women comes that much easier because many people believed that to be truly masculine; men have to carry both a fear and hatred of the feminine close to their heart. And after most of the incidents, our leaders, politicians and the society in general often targeted the victims. There were many cases of mishandling and rape by the men in uniform.

It is time to stand up and demand an amendment to the archaic rape laws. The maximum sentence for a rapist found guilty remains unclear under prevailing laws. The maximum sentence includes seven years of imprisonment, or up to ten years.  For those guilty of gang-rape, rape of a pregnant woman and related offenses the maximum for the guilty is 10 years. Since the present laws seem to be no deterrent to the rapists, it is time to revisit the archaic laws to the extent of exploring the most harsh punishment which could give the judicial system a handle to beat such anti-social elements with.

Additionally, we need to inculcate the sense of respect for women. This may start right in the family where the male members need to show adequate respect to the females in the family. School may also serve as the correct platform to teach about gender equality and respect.

All this boils down to inculcating a correct attitude about women who lives in our society in various forms : mother, sister, grandmother and friend.  With these steps, India's  deep rooted traditions of patriarchy, misogyny and repressive attitudes that prevail across classes towards women will ‘hopefully’ decline.

(This article was published in the May issue of Northeast Today Magazine)