“WOMEN” THE HELPLESS SPECIES OF INDIA

Indian Women’s

Women’s Day

It is needed as a movement in India

The United Nations General Assembly,celebrates International Women’s Day to recognize that peace and social progress require the active participation and equality of women, and to acknowledge the contribution of women to international peace and security.

In recent decades, much progress has been made. On a worldwide level, women’s access to education and proper health care has increased; their participation in the paid labor force has grown; and legislation that promises equal opportunities for women and respect for their human rights has been adopted in many countries. The world now has an ever- growing number of women participating in society as policy-makers.

But there is a place in the world called ‘India” where women can never claim to have all the same rights and opportunities as men in fact not even as women’s of some other developing country.

Freedom is now just a terminology for Women’s of India to write essays and to debate in seminars and talk shows. The reality: The Indian Women’s freedom have shrunk to the level of Medieval age.

Despite of so many assurances by the government for the safety of women and to support their rights, Nothing changed and nothing is changing in this country.. Indian Women’s know not what women’s day means for them a Celebration or a day to think about their plight in this country?

An analysis of figures shows that Delhi witnessed four rapes a day in the capital during this period while the average for 2012 was around two. In 2012, the Delhi Police Annual Report said that 706 rape cases were reported.

The Capital city witnessed a total of 181 rapes between January one and February 15, Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran told in Parliament.

Across the nation, a woman is raped every 20 minutes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. These frightening figures have risen steadily in recent years: in 2010, 24,206 rapes were reported, an almost 10% increase over 2001.

But you will be surprised to know that it is not the culprits who are suffering instead it is the women who is to bear the burnt.. their freedom snatched, movements blocked.. even in female-centric institutions girls have to held impassioned discussion of the infraction of their personal freedom.

Girl students’ day-to-day freedoms have also shrunk since the rape cases in many parts of the country. Curfew for students living in campus dormitories has been brought forward an hour to 9:30 p.m., and girls are now required to seek permission from the college administration before going out with friends and provide details of the friends they are going out with. These measures, the girls were unanimous in saying that it pose a serious threat to their personal freedom. “Every time incidents of sexual assault or molestation happen in any part of the country, we girls face more and more restrictions,” one student said during the discussion. “Why should we pay for the crimes men commit? Lock the men up. We are not the culprits!”

but in the labyrinth of India’s complicated patriarchy, women are not just victims but scapegoats. Every time there is a rape knee-jerk reactions from family members and political leaders alike place the onus on women by imposing restrictions on the way they move and how they dress. Indian media recently reported that the government of the northern state of Uttarakhand passed an order stopping women from working after 6 p.m. in both private and government jobs. The regressive edict, conceived by the state government as a way to curb crimes against women.

It was not an isolated transgression. Earlier, Delhi police had issued a list of dos and don’ts for women in the capital to stay safe, including not boarding empty buses and going straight home after school or college. The government of the union territory of Puducherry came up with the bizarre solution of putting girls in overcoats.

These wayward diktats, have made many worried that the freedom of Indian women is on the line. “It’s not just fear about safety. It is an excuse to impose lots of patriarchal strictures.

Women, too, are imposing stricter limits on themselves. Many women say they have started dressing more conservatively in response to a society that has repeatedly advised them to be invisible in order to be safe from sexual predators. “Whatever 10 steps we had advanced, this incident has put us back by at least 20 more steps,” says Tulip, a 27-year-old publishing professional who lives in New Delhi. Tulip, who has led a blithe life in the capital for the past couple of years, sharing a flat with a few other girlfriends, says she suddenly feels trapped. Her parents, who live in the Himalayan town of Dehradun, get frazzled when she goes out in the evenings. On their advice, Tulip has taken to dressing more plainly so as not to attract undue attention.

Many activists believe it is this assertion of freedom at home that prompted such a tremendous social reaction in the public sphere. “I don’t think that all the reaction was due to the fear of sexual violence,”

“The reaction is also to the assertion of freedom. When a woman starts demanding freedom and rights, that’s where the discomfort begins.”

“One section of society will certainly ask for more restrictions,” says social activist Aruna Roy.

 The wait is endless.. Women’s of India desperately seeking freedom.

WOMEN and INDIA

Indian Woman

Have an idea what a woman thinks and feel in this country–

“Let there be no mothers..

Let there be no wives..

Let there be no daughters..

And there will be no crimes.”

A student of Indraprastha women’s College, New Delhi Anubha Sharma wrote the poem, out of frustration after a long argument with her father on the parameters of safety for women.

Reasons: Unlimited ..Take for instance delhi gang rape

On December 16 2012 in New Delhi, at around 9.30 p.m., a 23-year-old woman was gang raped for almost an hour on a moving bus and then thrown semi-naked on the road to die. After battling with severe internal injuries, the woman died on 29 Dec, Saturday morning from organ failure, in a hospital in Singapore.

By Saturday evening, more than 1,000 candles glowed at a somber scene in a central Delhi park as India mourned the death of the young woman whose gang rape last December shocked the country.

Hideous violence against women is nothing new in India, but this particular outrage has caused widespread anger. Perhaps it was the casual ferocity of it. Or the fact that it took place on some of the teeming capital’s busiest streets. Or perhaps a nation at great pains to modernize is finding it hard to stomach what feels like an increasingly predatory sexual culture.

“The incident has raised the issue of declining public confidence in the law and order machinery in the city,” a National Human Rights Commission statement said, “… Especially, in its capacity to ensure safety of women as a number of such incidents have been reported in the national capital in the recent past.” Indeed, the rape of the 23-year-old  is just another horror in a grim litany of Indian sexual violence. There were 17 cases of rape reported in the state of Haryana, which borders much of Delhi, in October alone.  The number of unreported rapes is without a doubt greater.

Compounding the problem is the fact that many still view rape as personal shame, not a violent crime, and male aggression is routinely excused as a mundane fact of life. After Haryana’s 17 rape cases in October, some informal village councils (termed: khap panchayats), suggested that girls should be married off early to prevent sexual violence.

Shockingly, the state’s former chief minister, Om Prakash Chautala, endorsed the bizarre and archaic diktat.
“In the Mughal era, people used to marry their girls to save them from Mughal atrocities, and currently a similar situation is arising in the state,” he said. I think that’s the reason why khap panchyat’ has taken such a decision and I support it.”

Experts say blaming survivors of sexual assault is common in India. Rather than prosecute perpetrators, many say the fault belongs to rape survivors, who are shamed for, say, daring to walk alone, taking public transportation or wearing certain clothes. “Blaming the victim has been in some way also part of the larger design of the system, where you want to push the women to say they are responsible for what happens to them.”

Member of the National Mission for Empowerment of Women ‘Ranjana Kumari’ said that “It is like saying men are not responsible but it is the women who lured them into this.” She adds “This environment, sadly, is not seen as enabling women and making them strong but rather seen as reasons for such attacks.”

What she told is the truest situation in India, even in this particular case The woman and a male friend after watching a film were on a bus in New Delhi, where the culprits began by harassing the woman for simply being out with her boyfriend at night, then they tried to exploit her physically and after facing the retaliation they proceeded to beat her friend with an iron rod.

Likewise cases of rapes in Bombay a few years ago also marked by the same public anger, at that time the point of  debate was not the justice and safety but the late Night parties, Dance Bars and Pubs, above all Late Mr. Bal Thackrey reasoned the girls wearing jeans & Mini’s as the cause of provocation that subsequently resulting in the rapes.

The outcome “The Uniform Dress Code” even for the students of College & University levels through out the Country (such a great solution).

Leave it..Today we are in 2013.. Now What?

Oh come on.. Don’t expect anything new in India..Or Bharat.. Na.. nah.. This is India and We are going towards Bharat. Till then keep listening what Bhartiya Politicians & Intellectuals used to say and think about Indian Women and about Delhi Gang rape Incident:

JAN 07 2012– A Self-proclaimed Godman from Ahmedabad “Asaram Bapu“:

“Only five to six people are not the culprits. The victim is as guilty as her rapists. She should have called the culprits brothers and begged before them to stop. This could have saved her dignity and life. Can one hand clap? I don’t think so.” “Had she recited the Saraswati mantra, she would not have boarded any bus after watching a movie with her boyfriend,” the godman said.

The so-called guru, had said that the victim of the Delhi gang-rape could have saved herself by addressing her violators as bhaiyya (big brother) and beseeching for mercy.

DEC 29 2012– Dr. Anita Shukla, Secretary of Lions Club and an agricultural scientist by profession:

‘The victim should have surrendered when surrounded by six men, at least it could have saved her intestines’. Further ‘Women instigate men to commit such crimes’. She accused the victim of being insensible as she was out of her house after 10 pm. Shukla claimed that if a girl wanders late at night with her boyfriend; such situations are bound to happen.

DEC 30 2012– Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief  Mohan Bhagwat.

Mohan Bhagwat once again kicked up a controversy by saying that women must restrict themselves to household work. In a speech in Indore, Bhagwat said that “a husband and a wife are bound by a social contract where the wife has to take care of the household chores and the husband’s duty is to earn for the house and protect his wife”.

Bhagwat said “that rapes happened in cities and not in the rural areas. “Such crimes (rapes) hardly take place in Bharat, but they frequently occur in India,” Bhagwat had said indicating that “westernisation” in Indian cities was the reason behind increasing cases of rapes.

JAN 08 2013– Samajwadi party leader “Abu Azmi“.

“Women should not go out with men other than relatives and agreed with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s view that most rapes take place in cities and not villages.

“What is the need for roaming at night with men who are not relatives? This should be stopped, Such incidents (like the Delhi gang rape) happen due to influence of western culture, rape cases are on the rise due to women wearing less clothes.  Azmi agreed with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement on Bharat-India divide when it comes incidents of rape and that rape is a phenomenon that happens in cities and not in villages.

Azmi said I am 100 per cent of the opinion that there should be a legislation to prevent outraging modesty of women.

He said  “if a girl goes with her consent with him (boy friend) to a hotel and does not complain, then it is not an issue. But if the same girl goes with the boy to the hotel and no one knows what happens inside and if the girl comes out and complains, he would be hanged.

November 24, 2012-Khap panchayat Satish Tyagi, 

The Baliyan council in northern India has banned unmarried women from carrying mobile telephones to halt a series of illicit romances between partners from different castes.

The local council in UP  state decided to act after at least 23 young couples ran away and got married over the last few years against their parents’ wishes. “The panchayat (Council) was convinced that the couples planned their elopement over their cell phones,”

He said “All parents were told to ensure their unmarried daughters do not use cell phones. The boys can do so, but under their parents’ monitoring”.

The rules of inter-caste marriages are complicated and extremely rigid in many rural communities in India, with some lovers even murdered in “honour killings” by relatives trying to protect their family’s reputation.

February 03, 2013: Kashmir’s Grand Mufti, Bashir-u-Din Ahmad

The top Muslim cleric in India-administered Kashmir announced a decree banning the region’s only all-girl rock band from performing

Issued fatwa against the valley’s only all-girl rock band ‘Pragaash. and said “he has told girls of the band that music is not good for society and they should inculcate “better values” in themselves, “Girls and women folk can change the outlook of the society. But when girls indulge in indecency, immorality and are chained in the clutches of music and singing, it is unfortunate for the society.”

Although the chief minister Omar Abdullah came forward in favor of the girls but at the end the girl band had to quit after the fatwa issued against them.

Women calling for Justice

The above statements are appalling and It is these people who are responsible in society for creating misogynist values. Many Social and Women Activists reacted angrily, still such remarks are heard regularly, Women’s demanded that such people should be socially boycotted.

AIDWA’s Sudha Sundaraman condemned these statements terming them as injustice of the worst kind and advocating strong punishment against leaders making irresponsible statements.  “The statements made are highly objectionable, regressive and anti-women. Such people should be called to question. This is further victimization of the victim and deeply insulting to women.”

The strong sentiment was echoed by the Centre for Social Research’s Ranjana Kumari who said that such “irresponsible and ridiculous statements were responsible for encouraging rapists.”

Activist lawyer Vrinda Grover was also ourtaged and said “These people represented those who were scared of women empowerment. “What they want is that women must beg for her life and not fight back.

she adds “reports said that the Delhi gang rape victim expressed a will to live. That is a huge paradigm shift from those victims of sexual assault who would like to kill themselves out of shame. People like Mohan Bhagwat, Asharam Bapu etc are scared that women are now asserting themselves.

What Reasons.. ?

So many.. literally so many.. The Washington Post published a very good article over the same topic of discussion, the extracts are given below for you…

10 Reasons why India has a sexual violence problem ?

The case of a 23-year-old medical student who died Saturday after a brutal gang rape on a bus in New Delhi has seemed to snap India to attention about its endemic sexual violence problem. Hundreds of Indians poured into the streets of New Delhi to mourn the young woman, and police announced that the six men arrested in connection with the attack had been charged with murder.

In recent years, New Delhi has earned the title of “rape capital” of India, with more than 560 cases of rape reported in the city, but violence against Indian women is widespread and has deep roots. Here’s a look at some of the reasons behind the issue that’s bringing Indians into the streets:

1. Few female police: Studies show that women are more likely to report sex crimes if female police officers are available. India has historically had a much lower percentage of female police officers than other Asian countries. In New Delhi, just 7 percent of police officers are women, and they are frequently given inconsequential posts that don’t involve patrol duty, according to the Times of India. Of the 161 district police stations in Delhi, only one has a female station house officer.

When women do report rape charges to male police, they are frequently demeaned:

“The police refused to file a complaint. Instead, they asked my sister such vulgar details, it was as if she was being raped all over again,” Charanjit Kaur, the sister of another recent rape victim who committed suicide, told The Washington Post. “There was no lady police officer, they were all men. My sister cried in front of them and kept asking, ‘Would you still ask such questions if I were your daughter?’

As a result of the gang-rape incident, Delhi Police said they will launch a special effort to recruit more women.

2. Not enough police in general: There aren’t enough police dedicated to protecting ordinary citizens, rather than elites, a Brookings article argues, and the officers that are available often lack basic evidence-gathering and investigative training and equipment:

Delhi, for example, is home to one of the largest metropolitan police forces in the world with some 84,000 officers. But only one-third are involved in any kind of actual “policing” at any given time, while the rest provide protection services to various politicians, senior bureaucrats, diplomats and other elites. According to the Times of India there is one officer for every 200 citizens and about 20 officers for every VIP. Many of those who do perform police duties can be found shaking down motorists, participating in protection rackets and simply looking the other way as crimes take place.

3. Blaming provocative clothing: There’s a tendency to assume the victims of sexual violence somehow brought it on themselves. In a 1996 survey of judges in India, 68 percent of the respondents said that provocative clothing is an invitation to rape. In response to the recent gang-rape incident, a legislator in Rajasthan suggested banning skirts as a uniform for girls in private schools, citing it as the reason for increased cases of sexual harassment.

4. Acceptance of domestic violence: The Reuters TrustLaw group named India one of the worst countries in the world for women this year, in part because domestic violence there is often seen as deserved. A 2012 report by UNICEF found that 57 percent of Indian boys and 53 percent of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 think wife-beating is justified. A recent national family-health survey also reported that a sizable percentage of women blame themselves for beatings by their husbands.

“When a boy grows up seeing his father assault his mother, he starts to accept such a behavior and repeats it,” Anuradha Gupta, mission director for India’s National Rural Health Mission, was quoted as saying.

5. A lack of public safety: Women generally aren’t protected outside their homes. The gang rape occurred on a bus, and even Indian authorities say that the country’s public places can be unsafe for women. Many streets are poorly lit, and there’s a lack of women’s toilets, a Women and Child Development Ministry report said recently.

Women who drink, smoke or go to pubs are widely seen in Indian socirty as morally loose, and village clan councils have blamed a rise in women talking on cellphones and going to the bazaar for an increase in the incidence of rape.

6. Stigmatizing the victim: When verbal harassment or groping do occur in public areas, bystanders frequently look the other way rather than intervene, both to avoid a conflict and because they — on some level — blame the victim, observers say. Male politicians contribute to the problem, making statements that make light of rape or vilify rape victims’ supporters.

One regional policymaker, Anisur Rahman, recently asked a female minister what “her fee” would be for getting raped. The son of India’s president also recently apologized after calling those protesting against the Delhi gang rape “highly dented and painted” women, who go “from discos to demonstrations,” the AP reported.

7. Encouraging rape victims to compromise: In a recent separate rape case, a 17-year-old Indian girl who was allegedly gang-raped killed herself after police pressured her to drop the case and marry one of her attackers.

Rape victims are often encouraged by village elders and clan councils to “compromise” with the family of accused and drop charges — or even to  marry the attacker. Such compromises are aimed at keeping the peace between families or clan groups. What’s more, a girl’s eventual prospects of marriage are thought to be more important than bringing a rapist to justice.

8. A sluggish court system: India’s court system is painfully slow, in part because of a shortage of judges. The country has about 15 judges for every 1 million people, while China has 159. A Delhi high court judge once estimated it would take 466 years to get through the backlog in the capital alone.

9. Few convictions: For rapes that do get reported, India’s conviction rate is no more than 26 percent. There is also no law on the books covering routine daily sexual harassment, which is euphemistically called “eve-teasing.” The passing of a proposed new sexual assault law has been delayed for seven years.

10. Low status of women: Perhaps the biggest issue, though, is women’s overall lower status in Indian society. For poor families, the need to pay a marriage dowry can make daughters a burden. India has one of the lowest female-to-male population ratios in the world because of sex-selective abortion and female infanticide. Throughout their lives, sons are fed better than their sisters, are more likely to be sent to school and have brighter career prospects.

In recent days, Indian politicians have put forward a slew of potential remedies for India’s sexual violence problem. But it’s worth noting that it will be hard to end discrimination against women at police stations when it starts in the crib.

Above article written by O Khan and Laxmi for Washington Post

Delhi police stand guard in front of a barricade to stop from approaching a barricade on their way to India Gate

The government has promised to step up and take vigilant and preventive measures including: night patrols, supervision and checks on public and private bus drivers and their assistants, and the banning of vehicles with tinted windows or curtains.

The Delhi government has set a committee for speeding up trials of sexual assault cases on women. Another committee has been appointed to examine the lapses that led to the recent incident in the city.

New Delhi, a city of 16 million people, has long been called the “rape capital of India”.

About 45 cases of rape and 75 cases of sexual molestation were reported to police within the two weeks after the brutal gang rape attack on the physiotherapy student on December 16 2013.

Indian police force is still relaxed despite of their constant failure in checking the mounting crime against women.. don’t think it is a vague expression, hear it yourself what the Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar told ““The rate of conviction in rapes in Delhi is much higher than the national rate,” that’s it, Now do you expect anything else.

The Indian government has appointed a three-member panel of legal experts to review the rape laws.

And in the meantime “The cycle of Sexual violence will continue in India..

Excerpts of 

“THE WOMEN SAFETY BILL” The Leaked PROPOSED DRAFTS OF INDIAN POLICE FORCE

Go through a few lines of the coming safety bill and forwarded drafts of police.. We will publish the complete bill by the month end..

— TAKING NOTE of the fact that the present civil and penal laws in India do not adequately provide for specific protection of women from sexual harassment and that enactment of such legislation will take considerable time.It is necessary and expedient for responsible persons or institutions to observe certain guidelines to ensure the prevention of sexual harassment of women.

“The Guidelines for Female Citizens of India“..

1. Women’s should not be allowed to wear Rompers, Skinny Jeans, Shorts and Mini skirts “that are no more then two inches above the knee. Every educational institute, Fitness centres, Restaurants must display a warning board outside the educational school/ college/ institute/ university stating that “Wearing and Sale of Thongs, Torn jeans, Sleeveless Tee’s and other Sexy outfits in an area within a radius of one hundred yards of the educational institution is strictly prohibited.”

2. All the Shopping malls, Dealers, Retailers must add a one liner in their ads stating that ”Girls can’t wear body shape Clothes, Body fitting Jeans, Sleeveless Tee’s”

All the Shopping malls, Distributors, Dealers and Retailers of Apparels must withdraw the specified wardrobes  within 15 days of issue of this guideline, Non compliance will cause legal charges or  all stocks will be ceased).

3. Girls seen with boys other than relatives or brothers will have to pay a penalty of Rs.100, on the second offend the ‘woman or girl’ draws a fine of”Rs.500 and the third offender may be slapped with a fine of Rs.1000 with Two hours imprisonment imposed. The offence is Cognizabe, bailable, non-compoundable and triable by any Magis­trate.

Repeat offender will lose the rights to lodge F.I.R against sexual harassment.

4. BAN Night Show Movies: Girls won’t be allowed to watch night show movies in Cinema Hall.

No Cinema Halls/Multiplex can sell Night shows tickets to any female person whether less than 18 years of age or above.

As a minimum, all Cinema Halls/Multiplex must display a board of minimum size of sixty centimetres by thirty centimetres at conspicuous place(s) containing the warning “Sales of Night show tickets to a female person is a punishable offence”, in Indian language(s), as applicable.

 Any Cinema Halls/Multiplex found guilty of offence will draws a fine of Rs.2000 with one year of imprisonment  of either description for first offenders(Person In-charge) repeat offender may be slapped with Rs.10,000 and five years imprisonment imposed or have their license cancelled.

5. If the problems persist than mobile handsets should not be given to girls between 16 to 25 yrs of age.

6. If these solutions fail than the best idea will be the introduction of  “The Compulsory Marriage Act” i.e. to marry the girls right after their intermediate level Board Exams.

7. And it will be made compulsory to furnish the Marriage Certificates by Female Candidates at the time of admission to College levels, And all Certificates in original is to be produced at the time of admission, unless they won’t be admitted to any course except Distance Learning programs.

8. Women should have reasonable grounds to believe that she is disadvantaged in connection with her Safety.

9. The Central/State Governments are requested to consider adopting suitable measures including legislation to ensure that the guidelines laid down by this order are also observed by the local administration.

10. It shall be the duty of the employer or other responsible persons in Industrial sectors, Hospitality and work places or other institutions to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual violence or harassment and to provide the procedures for the resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts, of sexual harassment by taking all steps required.

The complete “Women’s safety bill”: COMING SOON 

TrustLaw, an organization that provides legal aid and information on women’s rights, set out to determine which countries were the most dangerous for women.

Why dedicate a day exclusively to the celebration of the world’s women? 

Related articles

• Widespread outcry, demand for justice, as India rape victim’s body arrives in New Delhi (foxnews.com)
• Suspects in India rape case charged with murder (hosted.ap.org)
• Indian rape victim was ‘planning to marry man she was attacked with’ (telegraph.co.uk)
• The Gods are anti-women, so are the Godmen! (freethoughtblogs.com)
• Azmi: Rape cases on rise due to women wearing less clothes (thehindu.com)
• The most outrageous remarks from politicians on India’s gang-rape case (vancouverdesi.com)
• Rapes occur in ‘India’ not ‘Bharat’: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat (ndtv.com)
• Media Crooks | Fixing Holes & Leaks (shanepedia.wordpress.com)

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