MUMBAI: Days after the BBC documentary on the 2012 gang-rape incident kicked up a storm, a German professor has been forced to apologise for refusing internship to an Indian student because of the “rape problem in India”.
Professor Annette G Beck-Sickinger from the Institute of Biochemistry at Leipzig University had written an email last week to an Indian student who had sought internship at the institute.
In her email, Beck-Sickinger stated, “Unfortunately I don’t accept any Indian male students for internships. We hear a lot about the rape problem in India which I cannot support. I have many female students in my group, so I think this attitude is something I cannot support.”
When the student pointed out that she was generalising, the professor replied that it was unbelievable that the Indian society was not able to solve this problem for many years now. These “multi-rape crimes” are not only threatening but also demonstrate the attitude of a society towards women, Beck-Sickinger said.
She added that many female professors in Germany decided to no longer accept male students for these reasons, and currently other European female associations were joining in.
The thread soon went viral on social media. Taking cognizance of the email and its possible aftermath in India, German Ambassador to India Michael Steiner dashed off a letter to Beck-Sickinger asking her to apologise to the Indian student.
“In 2012, the Nirbhaya rape case refocused attention on the issue of violence against women. Rape is indeed a serious issue in India as in most countries including Germany. In India, the Nirbhaya case has triggered a lively, honest, sustained and very healthy public debate — a public debate of a quality that wouldn’t be possible in many other countries.”
“I would encourage you to learn more about the diverse, dynamic and fascinating country and the many welcoming and open-minded people of India so that you could correct a simplistic image, which — in my opinion — is particularly unsuitable for a professor and teacher,” Steiner wrote.
Following the stern reaction from the Ambassador, Beck-Sickinger apologised to the student. She has claimed that her emails were taken out of the context.