Amanda Tung Ms. Burchi India Today Project Position Article Women and Girls: The road to their sufferings The discrimination against women remains a major source of conflict in many countries in the world, especially in India. Men treat women and girls in India with a low sense of respect and this is reflected through daily violent and abusive actions reported in media. The media, however, cannot be fully reliable, as not everything is or can be broadcasted. Men in India have more power and freedom than their female counterparts, and do not treat them well. The factors that affect this behavior are the media, the violent actions of men and the male perspective on women and girls in India today. The disrespectful assaults performed on Indian women and girls are shown through the brutal actions of men and media. Similar to China, males are preferred in India. Therefore, women are suffering from “not just rape but the discrimination many [of them] often have to live with throughout their lives.”1 The words ‘often’ and ‘throughout their lives’ show the frequency of this discrimination but also the long duration of their sufferings. There are many cases identified, such as the incident near Jhajjar. It was reported that “ a mother of four was allegedly dragged from her home and raped by five men just a month ago. She says they dragged her out of bed to a corner of the cowshed and took turns raping her.”2 This incident was not reported in media, as the mother explains, “The difference is that we are poor. We are not heard.”3 This quote shows that not every assault is heard by the public, which indicates the public’s lack of knowledge on these serious cases. Usually, an individual’s home is seen as a safe environment, but this thought is contradicted in this specific case. At her own house, the victim was ‘dragged’ out and got sexually harassed. The description of this situation shows the violent actions the four men performed as they ‘dragged’ her out and ‘took turns raping her’. It demonstrates the disrespectful attitude and behavior women are receiving. Rapes are not just happening with women, but also towards young girls. In the month of “July 2012, a young female student was molested and groped by a group of at least 18 men for 45 minutes in the northeastern state of Assam.”4 This time, it was not just four men but eighteen of them. The words ‘molested’ and ‘groped’ demonstrate the cruel actions that were performed. Other evidence of this is the case that occurred during September 2012, where it was reported that “a 16-year-old student was gang raped by eight men, and her father committed suicide out of shame.”5 Similar to the other cases, there were multiple men involved. It was said by Ms Hudson that, “men who do not have wives and families often gather in packs.”6 The more men involved, the violence can end up being 1 Sumnima Udas, "Challenges of being a woman in India," CNN, January 12, 2013, accessed May 15, 2013, http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/12/world/asia/india-women-challenge. 2 Ibid., Udas 3 Ibid., Udas. 4 Ibid., Udas. 5 Ibid., Udas. 6 Heather Timmons and Sruthi Gottipati, "Indian Women March: ‘That Girl Could Have Been Any One of Us’," The New York Times (New York, NY), December 30, 2012, accessed May 15, 2013,
“more gruesome and violent.”7 The results of this gang rape show that the rape was brutal to the extent where the father had to commit suicide, indicating how the harsh condition the girl had to suffer under. Looking at the date of this incident, it was a very recent case. This shows that sexual abuse is still happening in India, and the number of cases are rising day by day as “rapes increased 25 percent from 2006 to 2011”8, and “according to government data, more than 24,000 cases of rape were reported in 2011”, while “more than 600 rapes were reported in New Delhi alone in 2012.”9 These statistics can help portray how much violence men have performed, with media such as television affecting this. It is observed that “in Bollywood films”, where “kissing on screen is still rare and nudity forbidden. But the rape scene has been a staple of movies for decades.”10 This helps support where some of the influence might have originated from. From this it can be seen that the portrayal of media and the cruel actions of men help show the poor treatment of women and girls in India today. Men blame women for the increasing rapes and this can be seen through the perspective of a variety of men. The men in India view these rapes not as their faulty actions, but instead believe that “women are to blame for most rapes.”11 According to Ram Kishen, a farmer, women “are treated in the best possible way. They are given as much freedom as men.”12 Saying that women are approached “in the best possible way” with the diction ‘best’ contradicts the view of both the media and the women, as reports are shown on rapes and sexual abuses on women everyday. This also contradicts themselves as men admit that there are “rapes happening every day.”13 Women are not treated fairly, but men believe that in India, “[women] have always had a place of respect. There was a time when that was [not] true, but not anymore.”14 This shows that men believe the women and girls were treated poorly before, but this has changed now and women are no longer facing discrimination. Especially in the city, the men stated that clothing is too exposed on women. Krishan Kumar believes that “for some women, education and money means showing off their body.”15 The opinion states that the women show off their clothing, which invites the inappropriate actions, and this is one of the reason to rapes. In the “cities like Delhi or Gurgaon, the girls don't know how to dress properly”, and “if a girl seems available and inviting, then some people will definitely try to take advantage of the situation.”16 This indicates that women and girls have responsibility of their appearance and the consequence is based on http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/31/world/asia/rape-incites-women-to-fight-culture-in-india.html? pagewanted=all&_r=1&. 7 Ibid., Timmons. 8 Ibid., Timmons. 9 Sumnima Udas, "Challenges of being a woman in India," CNN, January 12, 2013, accessed May 15, 2013, http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/12/world/asia/india-women-challenge. 10 Heather Timmons and Sruthi Gottipati, "Indian Women March: ‘That Girl Could Have Been Any One of Us’," The New York Times (New York, NY), December 30, 2012, accessed May 15, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/31/world/asia/rape-incites-women-to-fight-culture-in-india.html? pagewanted=all&_r=1&. 11 "Indian Men on Women: In their Own Words - Haryana," Tehelka (Jan 14, 2013): accessed May 15, 2013, http://search.proquest.com/docview/1269110413?accountid=12012. 12 Ibid. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid.
their decision. How they are treated is a reflection on how they act and appear, showing that the poor treatment of women and girls are based on their actions. Suggesting that “[girls] should be covered in a way that no skin is visible”, this will help improve how they are treated by men. Rapes should be expected by women. Men state that, “if a girl is walking alone on the streets at night, then obviously, people will take advantage of that.”17 The word ‘obviously’ in this quote exhibits that rape should be expected, arguing the reason why women should not be alone and this is their own responsibility, otherwise improper actions should be predicted. According to Sham Lal, “the girls are becoming more desperate, and there is greater opportunity for men and women to interact with each other.”18 This quote only indicates women’s actions, saying their desperation is the cause and it is because of them that there is this inappropriate interaction. The perspective of men show that the poor treatment of women is because of their own actions, and that they are bringing themselves trouble. As the violent and unjust actions against women are still alive to this day in India, the factors can be blamed upon the media, the violent actions of men, and the male perspective. Due to these aspects, the women and girls are facing sexism and facing poor treatment from men every day of their lives in India Today.
17 Ibid. 18 Ibid.