A leading social evil plaguing India in the modern day world is the differential treatment of men and women in society. As Indians, we often pride our rich legacy of historical, cultural, social, intellectual, and philosophical thinkers who have paved the way to freedom and democracy for this nation. Yet, we remain at odds in our ability to bring a balance in our social etiquette to ensure basic safety and protection to women throughout the country. The recent news of the Delhi-gang rape incident surfaced a national epidemic, shame, and a harsh reminder of the incompetence of our police, government, and politicians to provide basic safety and protection to women throughout India. While we can lay the blame on several social elements of the Indian system including Bollywood, a primary blame must rest on the shoulders of people who lead the government, political, and social systems and are in-charge of the direction of this country. These elected members seek voter attention every election year by making passionate statements and promises that never helps the country. At a time when India is stressed with challenges of poverty, inflation, pollution, and much more, it is clear that the issue of women’s safety will drive the next round of national elections and while the “so-called leaders” will address this issue in isolated talks for media attention, it is a much deeper social problem that they alone cannot address and resolve. The issue of women’s basic safety and protection in India has to take shape in the form of a national dialogue, oversight, and transparency efforts by its citizens. Leadership reflects value and attitude and the women’s safety and protection issues simply cannot be left in the hands of those whose credibility is ethically and morally questionable. Therefore, it is up to us all as common citizens, the average Indians, the young and the old people who share a real interest in civic action to uphold the heritage and valor of India and lead the nation through complex challenges into the twenty-first century.
As citizens, people are genuinely concerned about the safety and well-being of their families and women are often seen as the most vulnerable members of India’s socially and economically stratified society. The current environment of India’s government and political elites remain at the pinnacle of absolute power and authority and often will do nothing more than lip-service to display illusory “growth” and “prosperity” and a misleading passion and capability to serve the nation, when in fact, India is hurting and bleeding. It is hurting from the countless, helpless voices of the nation that feel the pain and agony of a growing divide in the nation— the living standards and rising cost of items, the rich and the poor, the educated and the illiterate, the urbanites and the slum dwellers, the have and the have-nots. It takes true leadership to move a nation forward. Despite the hullabaloo claims of “India Shining” by the elected representatives, India is yet to reach an important milestone in overcoming an incessant social evil: sexual harassment of women by men. So, here is truth # 1 that you can(t) handle: in a modern day world, nations cannot realistically grow economically, culturally, and socially until women and men are treated fairly and equally. The western civilization settled this basic human rights issue decades ago. And while they do have their set of challenges, women are generally not afraid of their male counterparts in public and social situations. This does not imply that there are no cases of sexual assault in nations like the United States, Canada, and Europe, but their governments have higher standards of public safety protocols and are they better prepared to deal with issues of public safety. These nations also guarantee basic freedom and safety rights to all its citizens, a reason why so many immigrants chose to move and live there. Conversely, it is well known that in India people are literally “on their own” when it comes to public safety because they have no confidence in the government machinery, which is littered with charges and scandals of corruption at every level. Often times, people are even hesitant to help others in difficult situations because they don’t want to deal with an unfair system.
The current practices of exonerating men for sexual assault is so widespread in India that it is rarely mentioned in social and community circles, and is rarely a cause of concern when electing spurious people to leading political and government positions, from the lowest to the highest level. Even when their unspeakable reputation is a common knowledge, such men often become magnets of social attraction which others seek to associate with. In India, such a pattern has set into motion one of the most vivid imitations of power and control by which men learn and practice how to treat women as objects of sexual domination in a modern society. Data from the National Bar Association shows that more than 270 members of India’s parliament are currently facing sexual and rape charges while representing their constituencies and there are over 30 million cases pending in the Indian Judicial system. This is not only a societal burden but also an embarrassment that the average Indian carries in an interconnected and globalized world. By making unwelcome sexual advances and/or eve-teasing in public situations, men demonstrate the utmost disrespect to a woman’s sense of privacy and welfare. While detailed statistics of rape victims by city and state are available at the National Crime Records Bureau, every 22 minutes a woman is raped in India. It would be no surprise to know that all women in India are confronted by men’s sexual harassment or eve-teasing. Such behavior and attitude is prevalent at every strata of Indian society because women are often treated inferior to men. Truth # 2: Even in a modern day world, women in India fear for their basic safety while men can easily make sexual advances with no real social or legal repercussions.
The primary source of news and information for majority of people in India is from TV news channels and newspapers which detail the local and national happenings and events. When a tragic event occurs, more often than not, it amounts to a short-lived public outcry and demonstrations that wake up the government and the police into action to diffuse the energy of the public. And eventually, it dies a natural death from an interrupted momentum. Essentially, what this cycle does is it paralyzea the energy for any clear public opinion and objectives to form. Thus, a lot of blame, confusion, and barrage of conflicting information from different sources (police, government, politicians, media) leave majority of the people baffled and in the dark which leads to no concrete and tangible results or improvement of the social conditions. In a way, the “so-called leaders” get to be the gatekeepers of this mass social schizophrenia that revitalizes and diffuses itself with every major tragic event in the country. No doubt, such a platitude of public’s immunity to change can paralyze any movement or revolution.
To shake away from such redundancy and to improve the social conditions for women in India, we must first focus on the people who are in charge of our social, political, and public systems and identify their personal characteristics, traits, reputation, and core abilities to bring real change in India. We must educate ourselves in identifying those who demonstrate real leadership from those who fake it. Then we must demand higher standards of public safety and protection for women from the authentic leaders. We must do whatever we can— given our limited capacity— to influence others through networks of social media (www.justicefordamini, www.causes.com, www.change.org,www.facebook.com), education debates, citizens’groups and action plans, voice opinion in public and social events, sign online petitions—anything to break away from the current pattern. Unless we choose an action that leads to real change, India will remain at odds with itself in the twenty-first century. Truth # 3: There are masses of ruthless and worthless men out there but there are a few good men who share women’s struggle for basic safety and protection in India. It is up to each one of us to choose whether to be part of the inaction that our “so-called leaders” have preserved or join this struggle with men and women who are looking to form a stronger and more united community in India. It all depends on your perspective. You decide whether you can or can’t handle the truth!
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