The massive outpouring of disgust against the latest rape incident witnessed in the country’s capital will hopefully lead to a more informed discourse about the entire gamut of issue centered on the low status of women in India. While no doubt people, including our politicians, have every right to be very angry at what happened, but just to seek the death penalty for rapists, as is being demanded, is not going to solve the rape problem in India. In fact legal experts and feminists have said that criminals are deterred by the certainty of punishment, not its severity. And so the more important thing is for bringing about a responsive system where such crimes as rape can be deterred through clearly defined laws and the certainty of punishment. The demand for the death penalty by political parties and politicians is more of a populist slogan rather than any real intent to address the (low) status and disadvantaged condition of women in India. The belief in the right to rape by men perhaps stem from the power imbalance between men and women in society. Studies have shown that sexual assault is the soft underbelly of the patriarchal system. It is a tool -- perhaps the tool -- to keep women out of the power system. Thus rape can be said to not only reflect but reinforce gender inequality. And so this culture has to be fought and challenged. It will require more than just legal deterrence against rape. It will need improving the rights and status of our womenfolk. For instance, when we look at who have power in society and who makes the major decisions, we see that men still dominate our institutions - government, banks, business, medical, legal, media, religious, educational and the family.
And therefore, while mitigating programmes and affirmative State action is one aspect that needs to be encouraged, we also need to address the “roots of this violence by eradicating discrimination and changing the mindsets that perpetuate it”. What should be noted as a matter of serious concern is that the reality on the ground shows that many forms and manifestations of violence against women remain endemic around the world, cutting across national boundaries, race, class, culture, tradition and religion and the latest incident reported from Delhi as mentioned above only proves this. It is therefore clear that effort to eliminate violence against women needs to be enhanced. And so what is required is also changing our mindset and recognizing violence against women as a human rights concern. As rightly noted by a UN Special Rapporteur “it is only by placing women’s human rights, including the right to be free from violence, at the center of such efforts that we will be able to build a more secure world, based on the common goal and the shared obligation of ensuring that human rights are universally and equally enjoyed.” In the context of the prevailing system in India, more efforts are needed to make the police force more efficient and professional while also ensuring speedy justice. If law enforcement and justice dispensing mechanism is improved upon, there will be some kind of deterrence. And along with this, as mentioned, we need to educate and change the way we treat women—with dignity and to renounce such derogatory practices that is offensive and inhuman.
