Missing The Point

This post is one of the smaller posts on the blog. It’s about the DelhiGangRape of a 23 year old Medical Student. The news of the atrocities of barbaric lust spread like fire in summer. TV channels, newspapers, celebrities, politicians, social media hid nothing and poured out all the anger after her anguish.  The chills of her torture chilled the people of Delhi more than the cold air of Delhi winter.

The politicians sticking to their profession spoke of and about each other. Some spoke of more laws and reforms, but on the very same day there was a scuffle in the parliament (ministers hitting and fighting each other literally) and the house was adjourned at half day. 

NGO’s, Human Rights people, Women’s Rights people and hundreds and thousands of people came down to the streets to protest. People came down to meet the CM and question her about each other’s safety in Delhi, but the reply they received was jets of water from a police hose.

Just today I got a message on my whatsapp, it read

Dear Delhi,

I know I don’t have your 4 lame roads, and metros, and posh kothis, my people drive on narrow roads, live in small houses, travel in non-ac locals. Maybe your winters have made all your hearts cold. My women are safe, irrespective of their cloths, the time or the mode of transport, because I am always watching, I never sleep.

Sincerely

Mumbai

I was both shocked and saddened by this. It’s adding insult to injury. It looks like the Mumbaikars just see this as a chance to undermine Delhi. Would they really do that? The people of Mumbai are better than that.

Another, rather popular concept is that our society tells women what to wear than teaching men not to rape. Yes, that does sound good, and also seems to make sense. But does it really??

In the two scenes above, we have looked at two different things,

1.       It’s about Delhi

2.       It’s about men

But we have forgotten the heart of the matter; the crime.

Delhi might have the highest number of rapes, eve teasing or other assaults on women, but it’s not about the place or the people. It’s the weakness of the system that fails to curb or punish the crime, thereby failing completely to instil any sort of fear in the perpetuators.

Coming to the second point; there is no meaning to making the crime sexist. Of course, we live in a male dominated society and women have been victimised even in this era. In most rape cases when women come forth to complain or fight, they have been called to be the reason for the rape, calling them (the victim) to be the reason for the crime. People have spoken as if the women deserved to be raped, and that’s where they said that women need to dress responsibly. Women or anyone would take offence at that. And that’s why there came the expression of “women are taught to dress instead of men taught not to rape” 

Anyone who holds the victim responsible is surely out of his senses, but there is no reason to make it sexist. See the crime as a crime. 

Why do we lock our doors at night? To save ourselves from being robbed. Does someone come up and say we live in a society that teaches us to lock our doors instead of teaching thieves not to steal? No.. because theres no problem in seeing a crime as a crime there. But when it comes to rape it suddenly gets sexist. Maybe if we had some male rape victims or female rapists then the story would’ve been different. But as Batman said, a criminal is not complicated. Nor is a crime, as long as we can see what’s in the heart of the crime and not what’s around its perimeter.