By Abdul Basith, TwoCircles.net,
Kozhikode: “With regards to sexual violence against women, Kerala is no better place than Delhi. Just like in Delhi, the active participation of men folks in protests organised all across the state by women’s organisations is indeed a relieving sight,” says Samra, the Girls Islamic Organisation [GIO] Kozhikode District President while speaking to TCN.
“But what haunts me is that most among these men who expressed their solidarity with the rape victim in Delhi and women elsewhere in the country are big promoters of the popular culture through media, in the forms of item numbers in movies, obscene contents, vulgarity in verbal phrases or gestures – often questioning the integrity of women and her existence as an equal individual,” she added.
Social activist Ajitha speaking at the rally organised by Kozhikottukaar at Kozhikode Mananchira square [Photo: Kozhikottukaar]
So the ones who expressed their solidarity with women are in a way, on a daily basis doing the same thing which the rapists in Delhi had done in different forms, the criminals who raped and killed our sister in Delhi was just imitating this popular culture, Samra went to say.
In Kerala the literacy rate is high, moral and cultural values are discussed on a more random basis, despite this the state witnesses sexual violence against women on a frequent basis than other states. The Kerala public sphere, however, as Arundhati Roy recently mentioned, haven’t done justice in their protests for various reasons with regards to similar crimes within Kerala compared to their response to the mishap in Delhi.
Arundhati Roy had recently raised the issue of fatal silence over rapes by military personnels in Shopian, Kunan Poshpora and Manipur.
The responses often get confined to mere statements; they don’t even bother to have a look at the society and are reluctant to carry out an exact evaluation of the question as to how, why there is a black mark against Kerala on this regard, Samra went on to add.
The protests in Delhi in its initial stages were out of a sudden anger and since then it is getting hijacked. There are allegations that a peaceful Jantar Mantar rally, turned violent after ABVP workers made attempts to hijack the rally by attacking cops last Sunday, and it is this type of interference that spoils the purpose of a mass movement, the GIO leader told TCN.
Flex erected by the Facebook group Kozhikottukar as part of their rally, which they named as an ‘identification parade to trace mothers and sisters [Photo: Kozhikottukaar]
TCN also spoke to Advocate Noorbeena Rasheed, the Kerala Women’s Commission member and she says for the time being the urgent requirement is to ensure a speedy investigation and trial into the Delhi incident thus ensuring strict punishments that could stay as a warning to all those evilness hidden behind moral pretensions of male minds.
It is appreciable to bring in new legislations to ensure safety of women, but the more urgent and important requirement is to enforce the prevailing laws against these culprits, by not allowing any loopholes for them to escape, she added.
Keralites are no better than any other states in differentiating between love and lust. And this is the reason behind the alarming number of sexual exploitations within the households, she further said.
More than holding massive protests at Raisina Hills and Jantar Mantar, the priority should be on creating awareness in the grass root level. Awareness should be created within families. Decades back the families were not nuclear, and the children were able to take example out of the adult members within the family. Unlike today’s nuclear families there were grandmothers to guide the little ones, through fables that conveyed many values with regards to mutual respect and love. It is those ideal family situations of the yesteryears that gains relevance today than the need to arrange Karate classes for our daughters. Now we know that even body guards won’t be sufficient, as we saw the case with the Delhi rape victim who had a male friend to accompany her, observed the Kerala Women’s Commission member.
Girls Islamic Organisation [GIO] protest rally against Delhi gang rape held at Alapuzha
Brain tumor can’t be treated by application of balm, beheading is not the righteous of choice as well. The case is not different with punishments on sexual crimes against women, we should be able to diagnose the exact problems and provide the right treatment. Sadly despite this higher literacy rate, cultural, social and religious enlightenments – Kerala, the God’s own country – is one among the states that went most ineffective in handling sexual assaults against women, says National Women’s Front [NWF] National Vice President Zainaba.
Arundhati Roy’s statement in the interview at Channel 4 has its relevance because most times when the women belonging to the downtrodden classes are sexually assaulted or exploited, none would dare to raise a voice and even the courts at times goes on to the extent of making remarks like the girl didn’t cry or resist and hence it is not a rape, she opined.
The instances were many as it was the case with Bhanwari Devi, gang raped by higher castes and the court pronouncing that upper-caste men could not have raped a Dalit. She was the one who came up bold against child marriages and the rights of women; she was raped cruelly in front of her husband and the court went on to the extent of saying that Bhanwari’s husband couldn’t have passively watched his wife being gang-raped, even neglecting the fact that her husband was unconscious then being beaten up by the five upper caste men who gang raped her.
The Mathura rape case in Maharashtra was another incident were a sixteen year old tribal girl was raped by two police men and the court verdict was that Mathura was ‘habituated to sexual intercourse and so only sexual intercourse could be proved and not rape. The case was not different with many other minor girls from tribal colonies raped/ sexually assaulted and the court terming it a mere sexual intercourse with her consent than a rape.
So what is the use bringing in new legislations, if even the court fails in enforcing the laws prevalent? Even if new legislations to enforce capital punishments and chemical castrations are brought in, will those be able to serve the cause of winning justice to the women belonging to the downtrodden class? Who all will be hanged/ castrated? and who all will be let free? is indeed a question of relevance, she reminded.
Muslim Girls and Women’s Movement [MGM] rally held at Kozhikode to protest against sexual assaults on women
Now I have been seeing campaigns like ‘if the girl can be taken to Singapore for a better treatment, why can’t the rapists be taken to Saudi for a better justice’. These types of comments are indeed out of poverty in thoughts; these evil tendencies won’t come to an end by hanging one or two, said the NWF leader.
She reminded the case of Congress leader and union minister Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar being misbehaved by a 19 year old boy recently, will that be of any solution to punish him stringently when the fact is that he has expressed the present day mentality of a teenager controlled by obscene contents in media.
For creating a public awareness that men and women should enjoy equal rights as individuals, the works needs to be started right from the families. Every parent won’t be able to build up such an approach in their children and so school curriculum has this obligation. They should be taught through school text books regarding sex as a natural phenomenon and should be induced with the right attitude towards opposite genders. A society could be considered developed only when both men and women have their individuality recognised, she said.
“Staying elegant and modest is indeed an ideal Islamic way before our sisters, because such an approach in costumes and attitude would help them win acceptance and respect in households and work places and this to an extent could safeguard them from exploitations and not always I do recognise. So I would recommend these first rather than beheading one according to Saudi laws” she observed.
The male dominance is getting injected into the tender minds of the children, from the families itself. The girl thus is forced to develop an inferiority complex from her very young age, and the boy gets a feel that he has some supreme rights over her; and this I should say is not only the case with Muslim families. The daughters are often denied of the privileges enjoyed by the boys, often being warned that ‘you are the one supposed to step in to someone else’s home as a wife, notes Zainaba.
TCN also spoke to working women as well as housewives in Kerala with regard to how they perceive the recent developments at Delhi with respect to the atmosphere in Kerala. Febina – mother of a teenage girl and running a tuition centre for higher secondary school students at Meenangadi said that though the protests against Delhi rape rightly came under criticisms from a few corners with regards to media hype and several other cases of state machinery mediated sexual assaults going unnoticed, it should not be forgotten that it is for the first time in the history of the country a widespread public opinion has been formed against sexual violence against women. She feels that the protests will have a positive effect with regards to women’s safety in Kerala as well.
She asked whether it is right for the political parties to make statements against Delhi rape, especially when they possess the infamous history of protecting their party leaders involved in similar sexual assaults or exploitations and the examples are many from Kerala itself, she says. She said that the case is not different with General VK Singh taking part in the Delhi protests, as he was the one who kept deep silence over the widespread sexual assaults against Kashmiri and Manipuri women mediated by the Indian army under him. Febina feels with both these sections taking part, the effect of the protest is getting diluted or nullified as there raises the question of sincerity of statements and protests registered by them.
According to the Police in Kerala there have been 715 cases of rapes in the year 2012 up to the month of September. 2798 cases of molestations and 343 cases of eve-teasing were reported within this time period. It is very rare that the cases get reported fearing harassments and social isolation, even when rapes occurred. Most cases of molestations and eve-teasing too goes unreported for different reasons.