We are dealing with mindsets here wherein leading voices in power put blame squarely on rape victims
JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: Everyone must have laughed at Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s outburst at the BBC documentary ‘India’s Daughter’, and the subsequent decision to ban it. What is the point in brushing something under the carpet? The documentary shows interviews of the parents of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim, her rapist, the rapist’s lawyer and some historians. It exposes the mindset of not only rapists but also of their apologists. Unless we change this mindset coupled with judicial and administrative reforms, we should expect more worrisome news of enhanced brutality towards vulnerable women and girls. Rhetoric apart, does society accept men and women as equals in all respects? Sadly, our mindset has been moulded over centuries in a way that has led us to believe that women are lesser beings.
The situation in Pakistan is no different. This is evident from the attitude of our governments, police, religious leaders and the general public. One religious leader even objected to the reporting of rape crimes as it may cause chaos in society and bring shame to the girl’s family. Despite efforts, Pakistan has not come out of the vicious cycle of the ‘crimes’ commissioned by military dictator Ziaul Haq. One of his infamous ordinances required rape survivors to present four male eye-witnesses of the crime; otherwise, she would be booked under anti-adultery laws. Hundreds of rape victims were jailed for crimes they were not guilty of. Pakistani society has long struggled to come out of the web weaved by Zia and his cronies but so far it has failed. It doesn’t matter whether a crime as heinous as rape happens in India or Pakistan; we are dealing with mindsets here wherein leading voices in power put blame squarely on rape victims: why were they outside their homes, what were they wearing, why were they out late, etc. We live in a society where the false ‘honour’ of the family reaches a level where a raped girl is avenged by gang-raping girls of the rapist’s family. This shows the depths to which we have fallen. The crime of rape will not be eliminated even with capital punishment. This is a matter of mindset, which cannot be changed merely through slogans. Acceptance of gender equality has to start from one’s home. Women and girls are not personal properties of men nor are they objects of entertainment if they step out of their homes. Where are the governments, writers, poets, intellectuals, educationists, jurists, media icons and religious leaders to spread the message of gender equality? Celebrating the International Women’s Day in five-star hotels will not hide what is going on in our urban slums, on our streets and in the rural areas, which are deeply divided by caste and feudal systems.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, March 11th, 2015.
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