Assaults on women, though prevalent since ages, have started getting our attention only recently. It started with the gang rape in Delhi followed by a mediaperson’s gang rape in Mumbai. This earned wide coverage, and the media made an exception by protecting the identity of the victim. The police arrested the accused within days. Celebrities expressed their concern but some politicians proudly blamed it on everyone but the rapists. The incident made me wonder what the roles and perspectives of various people involved in the conversation were.
The police and media: the police investigate “urgent” cases, and cases are made urgent by media coverage. The media was sensitive to the Mumbai case, as the victim was of their own kind. Other victims usually become a source of sensational news. High profile case are built in metros, not in villages, probably so that they can be covered easily and can include celebrities. Out of the 25,000 cases of rapes reported in India annually, only a handful gets the attention. It is show biz and show biz runs on publicity.
Politicians and Celebrities: the politicians give these regressive statements knowing that even if they are criticised in general, they will still earn the votes of many people who think like them. Some celebrities cash in on the opportunity with the help of the media, as publicity creates their bread and butter. Only a few are serious about it, but empty words don’t change anything.
Public: we are hardwired to be Good Samaritans. So when something like this catches our attention, we feel like this is our chance to give back to society. The hearts of most people who support this cause by protests are in the right place. But it takes more than that. It is the lack of open mindedness that men desire the modern woman but can’t see their own sisters, daughters and wives behaving like one. Most men pride themselves in being in control of their family and modern society makes them feel like they are losing this control. These kinds of things take time to change, though I don’t feel that people are serious about changing themselves. We love pointing fingers at others but hate looking into the mirror. By blaming others, we take our own and everyone else’s attention away from our flaws.
So what can we do? Implementing tougher laws and increasing conviction rates will help, but with so many cases of rapes going unreported, change is needed from our end too. We need to change our views to respect everyone and we have to try to change people around us. Accusing people will make them defensive while rational suggestions will make them more open to views. So we can try to make them realise indirectly how regressive attitudes shame and not glorify our culture. And maybe, with time we will learn to give girls the place which has been due to them since ages.
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