Rapes: Why Angelina’s concerns are good for India

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie’s concern on rapes in India echoes the clamor for justice that is growing by the minute in the Badaun rape and hanging case and several other such cases that have come to light from all corners of the country. But despite knowing that the law and order machinery has broken down, the apologists are up in arms to gag media from reporting these cases citing big population, poverty and even data from the developed world to pinpoint that such incidents happen everywhere.  Angelina herself is on their hit-list now, all thanks to her concern for women rights in India. Yes, rapes indeed happen everywhere and yes, India has a big population, in fact China is the only country ahead of India when it comes to population, but yet why do we not see that it still has lower number of rape cases?

Also, the biggest question to ask is, that which country has the honors of first recognizing the female energy (FEMEN is a modern day volatile version), and who first associated a woman with a Goddess? The answer is India and India alone. The oldest religion of the world and also of this country had several women of valor and honor who still inspire the current generation. Lopamudra, Gargi, Rani Jindan, Kitturu Rani Chennamma, Jijabai, Anandi Gopal Joshi, Savitribai Phule and several millions of women have fought shoulder to shoulder for the betterment of this country both in the battlefields and also in the scientific and spiritual domains. When this country has such rich past then why is it that today women are not even safe in the womb of their mothers? Why is it that the Goddesses of India are being raped and cruelly hung from trees or being burnt alive (as was the case in Kolkata Gangrape case)?

Is it that all of a sudden the Indian men have turned savage or is it that the patriarchy is again coming back with vehemence? The fact is that none of this is true; gender stereotypes are breaking fast and patriarchy dies by every second when a girl chooses a pen instead of procrastinating in front of age old customs.

The problem in the cases of rapes in India is that it has become a tool of oppression in the hands of supremacists. Often the targets are from weaker communities, mostly poor and Dalits, who are now making inroads into the mainstream, thanks to a liberal push for reservation by the Indian government. The age old feudal structures are being challenged and just to keep this structure alive, the dominant class is using the archaic practice of targeting the female folks to keep the male ones under their boot.

Fortunately, the society has woken up to this reality and Indians (men and women both), are coming out in full-force against rapes, but the problem is the lawmakers who in their lust to grab more votes try to victimize the victim while protecting the accused often under the garb of castes, religions and even under the archaic juvenile laws that act against the victim at all levels. It is highly likely that a woman raped is poor and so is the rapist, but it is the cause of women that the lawmakers try to weaken while protecting the accused because they presume men to be their own ‘people.’

One example of above mentioned scenario was the Delhi Gangrape case of 2012 when it was common to hear lawmakers, cutting across all parties, openly chiding women for instigating men to commit rapes by wearing provocative clothes, eating noodles, carrying cell-phones and God knows what else! The women were told to watch out as men being men could not check their lust. But unfortunately for them, neither men nor women are amused by such sexist ideas any more, and the march of justice for rape victims continues. How far it would go is for us to watch out, but for now this movement is strong and is determined to boot out this menace and is certainly not ridiculing Angelina Jolie but thanking her for speaking up on behalf of the hung goddesses.