The Nation and it's Women

Ever since Ramayana and Mahabharata, women are often found to be the cause of a whole spectacle, not in a good way, but as miserable, helpless and blind worshippers of their husbands who would sacrifice everything for him. Used as an object of negotiation for revenge to an object of prawn in a board game, women rarely have been portrayed carefree, independent or someone who has a control over her own life.

Ironically, in Hinduism the women Gods or Goddesses are supposed to be the most powerful Gods backed up by tales which no male Gods possess. Take the example of Durga who killed the buffalo demon Mahisasura all by herself by combating him with ten hands and as many weapons, or Kali who killed an army of demons drinking their blood and sewing their heads into a garland around her neck. Not only had that, in order to control her anger and bring her to conscious Shiva had to lie down on her path as she puts her leg on his chest. This mythology regarding Kali is very symbolic in two ways. First, it represents the dominance of a she over a he and that the he respects it; secondly, this story represents the beauty and power of the bare body of a woman which deserves to be accepted, respected and worshipped. I wonder what the “Hindu Flag Barriers” of today mean when they say that women should be kept wrapped up behind bars and the same “Flag Barriers” worship Kali exactly the way she stands unclothed on the chest of her husband.

The existence and followers of a certain religion till date probably thousands and thousands of years after the onset of the religion itself should mean that there are people even today who believed and followed what their religion meant and said. Unfortunately, it is not true. The actual teachings of a religion are completely lost, in its place wrong and absurd adaptations with absolutely no truth have thrived. People are blinded by lust, power and foolish beliefs, and dominance has become their prime motto.

Today, when knowledge and information is so readily available and when a person can differentiate between right and wrong, between reality and fiction, and that the efforts to fulfil the prime necessities to live dictates the way of life, man, still is considered as the superior half and is responsible to lead (actually dominate) and feed his family and wife. Wife accordingly, must be the weaker half and have to be completely surrendered to her husband. Now, for a husband it is the question of his masculinity to provide food and protection to his family as he is the dominant sex, and if he cannot fulfil the needs then he is not a man. This sheer pressure created by certain mindsets on a man results to a catastrophic society where certain men find their solace by dominating women, from their own families or an outsider. A kind of escape route, from their failures and miseries. This sentiment however, looks like is shared by many which in itself is quite disturbing, let along so many who have already crossed the limit.

The focal point of any crime on women in India seems to be that we are in the habit taking wrong lessons from very wrong people, who unfortunately, are not in jail but are some of the most powerful people with the licence to address the public according to his or her will. Religion has become the fragment of certain people’s imagination, manipulating it according to their benefits and in return infecting the society with disastrous attitude and absurd rules discriminating the two sexes. The fickle minded people succumb to these ideas and become brainwashed zombies mend to nip every bud of life and independence, crying Indian culture and Indian ideals as they proceed, in order to justify their bloody acts.

On 1^st March 2015, Leslee Udwin, an American actress and producer known for her east centric comedy films such as East is East and West is West, interviewed one of the rapists of the infamous 2012 Delhi gang rape case as a part of the documentary film on the very case naming India’s Daughter. This film is one of the many real-event stories for BBC’s long running super hit documentary series show Storyville. This film was supposed to be broadcasted on International Women’s Day, 8^th March 2015, in India and simultaneously in many other countries.

In India, from the very beginning, India’s Daughter is marred by a lot of criticism and ridicule. Most of it is because of the fact that an interview for commercial purposes was held with the rapist of the infamous Delhi case, secondly, certain media releases revealed that the rapist during the interview backed his actions and showed no remorse whatsoever. He even blamed it on the victim girl, that her actions and her “wrong clothes” invited the wrath onto herself. The government of India however, banned the programme, but eventually it ended up on Youtube where it received an overwhelming response. The film ultimately got removed from every media in India and BBC got slapped with a legal notice for violation of conditions.

Amidst all chaos, the most disturbing thing was that the views of the rapist weren't something one has heard for the first time. In fact, more often than not degrading view like than can be heard, may it be from a common man or a woman or may it be from a political leader or a spiritual leader. It is probably the most hurtful feature of this documentary, that it showed a similarity between the psychology of a deadly rapist and many of the citizens of this country. This documentary exposed the diseased animal which inside many of us, just waiting for a push, a chance, to pounce on someone to rip apart, and then cry culture and religion and morality in order to justify the barbarism. 

Banning India’s Daughter in India is like, while watching TV with kids or parent one abruptly changes the television channel in order to avoid an awkward AIDS awareness or a condom ad. The reality, how hideous it maybe, remains the reality no matter how much one tries to hide it. Banning the documentary maybe was the best thing to do, but we cannot keep on ignoring and avoiding the ugly truths and hope we don't get affected and move on with our lives. The government of India must hunt down the hate speakers; religious leaders or even politicians it doesn't matter, and make sure no evil minds and their twisted teachings infect our societies anymore.  It is indeed a long dark tunnel, and we must walk through it, facing the fears and enduring the pain in order to seek the light on the other end.