Unimaginably brutal and horrific crimes are committed upon the bodies of women every day in our country. Some of these crimes however are more horrendous than others and they attract national outrage. The Hathras gang-rape of Manisha Valmiki is one such instance. The horrific nature of the crime, the events that followed it and the public outcry in response to it reminds us of the Nirbhaya gang-rape almost eight years ago. Following that, there were demonstrations, dharnas, the setting up of committees and even changes in existing laws. But has anything changed on the ground?
On 14 September, Manisha Valmiki was gang-raped by four men followed by a strangulation attempt with a dupatta in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. With her spine severely damaged, her neck damaged and her tongue cut. She battled for life for two weeks before she died in a Delhi hospital. Her body was then hurriedly cremated at 2.30 AM in the middle of the night, in mysterious circumstances by the police. This was done against the wishes of the girl’s family.
Even as the outrage continues there is conjecture about the victim actually being murdered vis-à-vis succumbing to her injuries. And as we still grapple with the horror of this, there is news of yet another brutal and rape in Balrampur district by two men; of the victim dying while being taken to hospital. On the heels of the Balrampur incident, two more rapes of minors were reported from Bulandshahr and Azamgarh districts of Uttar Pradesh. The memory of the Hyderabad gang rape is still fresh in our minds as are other brutal rapes and murders of Kathua and Unnao.
The regularity and the incessant nature of these crimes repulse us as much as these crimes. Why do so many men commit these acts of brutality? Is it, as Markandey Katju claims, the result of natural male urges? Is it a result of sex-deprivation? This view would be laughable if it wasn’t so scarily ignorant. Firstly it assumes that men are a slave to their urges; unable to control their lust when in fact as human beings we all are required to curb our baser instincts. This is what makes us a civilised society with a rule of law.
Secondly, the former judge is clearly clueless about the dynamic of rape. Rape isn't about uncontrollable desire. It is about rage and subjugation. It is about humiliation and about showing a woman her place. And that brings us to another hugely problematic aspect of the Hathras incident – caste. Those who say there is “no need to bring caste into this”, are either delusional or being deliberately disingenuous.
There is a simple question for those who say there is no caste angle here: do we ever hear about upper-caste women being raped by lower caste men? We do not. That is because it doesn’t happen. On the other hand, rapes of Dalit women by upper caste men are so commonly reported that these headlines have become almost banal. The rape of women from marginalised communities is about the assertion of power. It is about punishment by those who want to demean not only the woman but also her identity. It is about terrorising her and her family; a warning to them not to have ambitions above their station; their औकात.
Here, rape is an exercise in maintaining structural hierarchies and continuing to keep certain segments downtrodden and disempowered. It is also about showing women ‘their place’; particularly aspirational women looking to educate and pull themselves and their families out of poverty. Rape is often used as a warning to those fighting to shake off the shackles of structural social inequity.
We could equate this Hathras incident with the brutalizing and murder of Nirbhay (Jyoti Singh) in 2012 and we would be right. Both are horrific incidents. In both cases, the victims struggled to live for days before succumbing and also gave their statements before dying. In both cases, the nation responded to the horrors and called for justice for the victims. In the case of Jyoti Singh, the laws were changed as well; punishments were made stricter.
And yet, little has changed. Rapes continue unabated. We still have prominent people such as a former judge ‘explaining’ ‘male urges’ for us. The concept of consent continues to be blurry and victim shaming is very common. We still have a public demanding ever more brutal punishments for perpetrators; ignoring the fact that harsh punishments rarely act as a deterrent for such crimes.
The family of Manisha Valmiki still had significant difficulties getting their complaint registered. Arrests were made only after ten days in the matter and the suspicious nature of the cremation of the deceased girl points to a possible cover-up. Reports suggest that a powerful Thakur family of the village had a land dispute with the Valmiki family and this incident was meant to show the Dalit family their place.
This is just one example of how the powerful continue to break the law with impunity; the powerless continue to chase the chimera of justice only to be cheated out of it. People in positions of authority continue to misuse their power and shield criminals either for venal monetary reasons or because of political pressure.
India may keep having its Nirbhay moments – with Jyoti Singh, the Kathua, Unnao and Hyderabad cases, or with Manisha Valmiki of Hathras, but there seems to be little that actually changes. It is only genuine empowerment of marginalised communities, gender-sesitisation, education, effective law enforcement and efficient justice delivery systems that will bring about meaningful change. Otherwise, India will continue merely to outrage; lurching from one Nirbhaya moment to the next.
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