"No use killing mosquitoes without improving sanitation" .... Rape is a crime, a tragedy but more of a barbarism

Late socialist leader Sharad Yadav of Janata Dal (U) used to say the general reactions to incidents of rape lacked the real verve to eradicate the menace.

 “It’s a case of trying to kill mosquitoes without improving sanitation in the vicinity,” he used to say. 

Many social issues are often attributed as triggers to put an end to heinous crime. In 2012-13 when there was sudden spurt in crime against women including rape and murder, experts said lopsided sexual demographic in Haryana was responsible.

Haryana then had just 877 women to every 1,000 men following years of infanticide and abortions. Boys generally in Indian society remained highly favored.

The mismatch led to social unrest.

Outrage across India has, rightly, followed the gruesome crime in Kolkata. 

Nationwide suspension of healthcare services amid demands for safety for females, 

particularly doctors in hospitals, has taken centre stage. 

Hundreds of thousands of people across India have taken to the streets demanding justice for the victim.

Often so-called analysts talk about women's attire.

But what clothes can a minor of five-years wear that can seduce an adult into the crime 

of rape? Is it a pair of shalwar kameez or a t-shirt ?

What could be the relative seduction score of these clothes that can make an underdeveloped 

child’s body appear as an 'object of allure' for an adult wrongdoer.

A village council in Jind District im 2012 in Haryana where a Dalit woman was raped 

had issued a diktat reducing the marriageable age of girls from 18 to 15 or 16 in a bid to address the 

problem. Men below 21 years old cannot legally marry in India. Unelected village councils such as 

this one have no legal power but they often serve as kangaroo courts and their pronouncements are 

usually followed, even by local government bodies.

In 2014, the Supreme Court demanded that all states report on how they enforce laws meant to stop the aborting of female fetuses. India outlawed pre-natal sex determination 20 years ago in order to prevent couples from resorting to female feticide. But an inspection team recently reported the practice continues unabated throughout the country.

The National Inspection and Monitoring Committee said in a statement to the court that in most cases, state authorities worked closely with clinics that carried out sex selective abortions.

The court asked all states to file affidavits on the implementation of the law and said that if any state fails to do so its responsible officer will have to make a personal appearance before the court.

What's better for women.....; a male chauvinist Nagaland or  matrilineal Meghalaya ??

The phenomenon of crime against women now in national debate is actually also a conundrum - a sort of mystification.

Of course the video footage episode from Manipur in 2024 was a trigger. India as a nation debated the delicate and yet highly emotive issue time and again. The rape and murder of 'Nirbhaya' in 2012 was a case in point.

The crisis in Manipur is certainly not a case of 'crime against women', it is more complex and the various facets of ethnic strife ought to be understood. But 'crime against women' in Rajasthan and West Bengal are also part of immense challenges and crises everyone ought to be sensitive to.

The Meghalaya police in its district wise figures say there have been as many 603 cases of crime against women in the recent past. "Yes, it is very serious and we have seen that crime against have been there," Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had said last year.

Like Economics, Sociology too cannot be a durable truth. It requires constant attention, closer scrutiny and revision. Such a notion is well reflected in the case of crime against women in different parts of India.

How, which of the two worlds - a pro-feminists or matrilineal one or male-chauvinistic one suits women better ?

In 2021, the National Crime Records Bureau (NRB) of the Union Home Ministry has thrown a new challenge. In contrast to Meghalaya, another Christian-stronghold state in the region, Nagaland, is generally known as a male chauvinist society. 

Yet the women have been much safer. The crime figures/cases against women in the year 2020 in Nagaland stood at mere 37.

In contrast, the Meghalaya figures stood at 568 during the year. Meghalaya is a Matrilineal society of Garos, Khasis and Jaintia tribes.

What happened in Kolkata was not a tragedy. A tragedy indicates an isolated, sudden incident that is shocking because it happened outside the bounds of ‘normal’. It suggests an event that could neither be predicted, nor planned for, says an article in Pakistani newspaper 'Dawn'. 

A ‘tragedy’ would lend credence to the belief that this was a one-off occurrence that stands out as the exception, proving the rule that women are generally safe.

Therefore, it was not a tragedy. It was systemic barbarism. It was another reminder that we live among monsters, created and protected through the proliferation of centuries of rape culture which normalises perverted attitudes towards women.

Pyramids have often been used to show the progression of rape culture, which begins from the normalisation of problematic beliefs — victim blaming, “boys will be boys” and rape jokes — moving onto degradation of women — stalking, cat-calling and non-consensual photography.  

How many people truly are ‘mentally sick’ in Pakistan and India if rape is a crime that makes regular headlines? 

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