Only a change in mindset can bring an end to gender violence
The gang-rape of a young woman in the national capital shook urban India. The media, particularly television channels, took the cue and gave saturation coverage to the issue of gender violence and the public protests, especially in the cities.
In the surcharged atmosphere there was more anger and less reason. Impatient young people demanded not only instant justice but also the death penalty and chemical castration, which were clearly out of sync with the spirit of modern times and democratic and human rights traditions.
Forced to act to quell popular discontent, the government set up a three-member committee to look into possible changes in criminal law to ensure quicker trials and severer punishment for sexual assault of women.
The committee comprising Justice (Retd) J S Verma, former chief justice of India, Justice (Retd) Leila Seth, former chief justice of Himachal Pradesh, and Gopal Subramaniam, former solicitor general of India, submitted its report within 30 days.
Given the heightened interest, there was an overwhelming response from citizens, besides legal and subject experts, NGOs and women’s organisations. The panel received thousands of suggestions, which was indeed heartening. After all, it was not just anger and participation in symbolic candle-light marches. In a letter to Justice Verma, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised that his government “will be prompt in pursuing“ the committee’s recommendations.
No matter how good laws are on paper, they mean little if it takes years to punish a person accused of rape.
The committee has rightly pointed out that existing laws are enough, they just need to be implemented properly and quickly.
It was not just the failure of the government and its police and legal system. It was a collective failure of the Indian people. Those who commit offences are from this society. They are growing up in a system which has been unjust to women. Everyone wants someone else to fix the problem. No citizen wants to take the responsibility for doing his bit. The committee was pained to note that no one came forward to help the injured victim as she lay bleeding on the road.
Another point raised by the committee is that there is a great dependence on government and laws to solve social problems. At best the laws can enable change. Laws are tools for change but they cannot on their own bring about change. The need of the hour is to take steps to change the mindset of the people of our country.
The committee’s recommendations include drastic changes in what is being taught to children in schools. An NCERT document points out some of the wrong ideas spread through school books. They include:
* Women are weaker than men. Weaker sex refers to women. Men are physically stronger than women.
* Women at home do not do any productive work. Housewives do no work at all.
* Men do not cry.
* Males contribute more to the country’s development than women.
The following piece, cited in the NCERT report, succinctly captures the gender distortions in the existing school curriculum:
In my textbooks I learned that only men are kings and soldiers
Till I read a book in which famous queens ruled and fought against enemies.
In my textbooks I learned that only men are doctors,
When I went to a doctor I saw that she was a woman.
In my textbook I learned that only men do farming in my country,
Until, on a train journey, I saw women working in the fields.
I have learned that I have a lot to learn by seeing.
– Pooja, Ramya, Anuj, Utkarsh, students of Class VII, Baroda
There is a need to catch them young. Give the right inputs and gender sensitive values to children so that they grow up to be good citizens who respect women and do not indulge in sexual violence of any sort.
In the short term there is an urgent need to fix the legal and judicial problem. Change the laws where necessary to make them effective and change the judicial system and courts so that there is no delay in punishing the guilty.
In the long term there is a strong need to change the mindset of the people. That has to start from schools. Citizens cannot leave everything to the government and the laws.
It is the people who run the government, its police departments and its courts. It boils down to people – citizens like you and me, our parents, relatives, friends and acquaintances around us, political leaders, police officers, judges and, of course, teachers.