Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi's plan to have a one-stop ‘rape crisis cell' in all districts of all States, to be functional by the end of 2014, is a great idea. She must ensure that it is implemented effectively
Rape has, unfortunately, almost become a part of our culture. It is time both men and women accept this and take total charge to change this existing menace. The responsibility of curbing this abominable act should pervade every nook and quarter of our society if we want to aim at ending it.
It is good that the present BJP-led Government at the Centre decided to upgrade the Ministry of Women and Child Development to the Cabinet rank. This for now, at least, is a clear indicator that the Government will treat rape with all seriousness and be on a fast track to minimise such heinous crimes in days to come. Rape unlike many other crimes is not a ‘detection-heavy’ crime, yet we never manage to get to the bottom of these cases within the right stipulated time. This time one hopes the ministry does not only make plans but implements them as well. This social ailment needs to be pulled out from the roots that have got deeply entrenched in our social fibre.
To begin with, we need to treat rape in a holistic way. The fact that we always harp on rape being a ‘woman’s concern’ should be done away with completely. Rape, like any other crime, is a concern for all citizens. When we are open to developments in all areas, why does a mind-block exist when it comes to acknowledging the fact that the only person in a rape case who needs to be blamed and punished is the rapistIJ Development should be defined in a much broader way by our Government; besides economical growth, it should aim at educating the minds of people and society at large.
Time has come when crime against women should be perceived as a mainstream law and order issue. It should be treated by all, including our leaders, lawmakers and the keepers of the law, with absolute seriousness. Every time a rape occurs and is brought to light, our leaders happily lend their thoughts. Most of their analyses are cruel and callous. In this way these men and women at the helm of affairs are sanctioning one of the most gruesome crimes. let me be bold enough and question them: “Would you tolerate any man even cat calling or obnoxiously staring at your spouse, daughters or sistersIJ Then why is it so different when it is ‘another woman’”IJ
It is indeed laudable that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the new Government is thinking of punitive and equal punishments for all, irrespective of their stature, when road rules are broken. Why cannot a lead be taken from this to punish anyone who comes out publicly with insensitive and biased statements regarding rapeIJ For example, look at these conclusions and explanations lend by our elected leaders regarding rape: Boys are are boys and they do commit the mistake of rape; a woman has called rape upon herself just because she is dressed in a certain way; fast food can bring about rape; rape happens because the woman is a sex worker... the list is rather long. We need to remember that such analyses cause immense harm — ills trickle down faster than anything good. Such netas need education, in case punishment is not possible. They need to know that their position does not sanitise them and make them any different from the common people. The leaders have and should take up a greater role and stand as examples in their efforts to change our cultural approach towards crimes against women.
While our leaders have been coming up with such heartless remarks, I would like to compare them with what US President Barack Obama recently stated about rape: “No matter what she’s wearing, no matter whether she’s in a bar, in a dormitory, in the back seat of a car, on a street, drunk or sober, no man has a right to go beyond the word ‘no’. And if she can’t consent, it also means no.” If our leaders take cues on ‘development’ from the US, where are they when it comes to learning such valuesIJ
Educating and changing the existing patriarchal mindset should be taken upon as one of the most foremost tasks by the Women and Child Development Ministry. Ms Maneka Gandhi plans to have a Facebook account that will include a page which will be dedicated to complaints on sexual offences and atrocities. She has also committed that she would personally monitor all such mails besides the Facebook page. But we also need to understand that we suffer illiteracy in a huge way. Earlier this year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation pointed out that India currently has the largest population of illiterate adults in the world with 287 million. This is 37 per cent of the global total. This clearly means that a Facebook page will or may work only with a thin slice of our population.
I find Ms Gandhi’s plan to have a one-stop ‘rape crisis cell’ in all districts, which will be functional by end of 2014, more realistic and result-bearing, but only if it is implemented. These centres, she says, will be well-equipped with medical, legal and police aid. The Minister has also announced that funds have been already allocated for this project. There is a lot of task in hand for her in a country where rape takes place every 22 minutes. The ministry needs to take a aggregated approach towards crimes against women and have an appropriate roadmap for the ongoing journey ahead.
Recently, when I spoke to Ms Anita Agnihotri (who was the Member Secretary of the National Commission for Women for almost a year), she expressed her views on rape as a crime. “We have to understand that this menace cannot be brought down till complete police accountability is ensured. We need to have a situation where the most underprivileged woman can go alone to a police station and can lodge a complaint without being ridiculed, returned back, or getting ‘judgemental’ comments on her looks or supposed conduct. Crimes against women are the only area where the victim has the onus of establishing the veracity in the eyes of the police personnel.”
Time has arrived when we need to tinker both ends of the chain. There are blogs, classes in schools and at home for growing girls and women on how to safeguard their rights. Why can’t a similar approach be taken when it comes to boysIJ Boys and men should be made aware of the fact that being ‘macho’ does not mean being physically stronger than women and misusing this aspect. Instead, they should be taught how to be sensitive towards women and respect them as equal individuals.
From the time a girl starts getting conscious of her surrounds, she is brainwashed into believing that her discretion is extremely important in safeguarding the self. Why can’t we train little boys and tell them that they need to respect a woman and be equally responsible for her safety. As these boys grow up, they need to be told over and over again that a woman’s body is not a plaything and that she has complete rights over it.
For decades, from the time that we were children, a subject called Moral Science has remained a part of school curriculum. Over the last two decades it has been given a more acceptable nomenclature — Value Education. In those classes, students are taught about what is ‘sin’, ways to respect our elders, to fear God, and so on. Why cannot the Human Resource Development and the Women and Child Development Ministries join hands and start a compulsory subject called ‘Social Responsibility’. In senior classes, children of both genders should be taught the value of mutual respect and equality. They should be taught that atrocities against women are a crime, just like murder. Is not this teaching more practical than learning about what causes sinningIJ It is time we stop enforcing religious diktats through soft tales in textbooks and take a more realistic approach that will better society in days to come.
I don’t know if it will ever be feasible in a patriarchal society like ours, but, it would be a great idea to actually hold formal and compulsory classes both with the lawmakers and keepers of the law. If corporate houses hold refresher courses in regular gaps (on various subjects including gender issues) why can’t the Ministers go through a similar treatmentIJ Someday, I wish to see such classes made imperative by the Government. But I don’t think it is going to be that easy.