Apu’s World

4 years ago, Australian tourist Emilie Griggs was raped and murdered on her visit to India - infact, before she even had seen anything of the country, on her way out of the airport itself. Yesterday, a Delhi Court sentenced the 2 accused to death, on the basis of forensic and circumstantial evidence. This may of course, not be the end for these heartless criminals; since this was a sessions court, it’s quite likely that they may appeal, and the case go on to the High Court or even the Supreme Court. Still, 4 years of legal proceedings is not a long time by Indian standards- and while I have mixed feelings about the death penalty, I am glad that the court has decided to give the harshest penalty to these scum. Perhaps more judgements like this will create some fear in the minds of such depraved elements? It is too much to hope that harassment and rape of women will stop on any moral grounds, but atleast fear may make some think twice.

Let’s look at some statistics. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, there were 18,359 rape cases registered in the year 2007.  The NCRB records mention that this translates to 4 incidents per lakh of population. I’m not sure if this refers to female population, since most rape cases involve women as victims. While 4 per 100,000 may look not very high (and it isn’t compared to many other countries), we do know that rape cases are chronically under-reported in India.

First, there is the stigma of having been raped. I’ve heard the most sympathetic of people sometimes condemn rape in the harshest terms, and then turn around and provide some explanation as to why this particular victim shouldn’t have been there, at that particular time, on that particular day. Somehow, there is always something the woman did, which led to her being raped. Maybe she was too friendly, maybe she was wearing a short skirt, maybe she was in the wrong locality, maybe she had a drink, hey, maybe, she existed, that was the problem! The ridiculous obsession with virginity, can make young, unmarried women, feel ashamed of having been raped. She may prefer to bury it rather than pursue the culprit in court. Also, family support to pursue a case may not always be available.

Then, as anyone who has tried to file an FIR at a police station for any reason would know, the cops are very reluctant to take on cases that don’t interest them. Often they suggest that both parties settle it among themselves. Finally, there is the headache of seeing the case through in court, often over many years, with no end in sight. Often, no care is taken to ensure the victim’s privacy. She has to get used to seeing her name splashed in print. Many Indian families will consider this a continuing shame. So, it’s reasonable to assume that the 4 in 100,000 figure is quite low. How much lower than reality, is anyone’s guess.

It’s not just rape. I can’t find the 2007 statistics, but the NCRB statistics for 2006 show another 1,64, 765 crimes against women reported - including kidnapping, molestation, harassment, cruelty from husband/ family and importation of girls. These form a total of 8.8% of all reported crimes for that year.

For these crimes to come down (and I’m talking actual numbers here, not these under-reported ones), we need a combination of three things:

• Public Attitudes to women must change : women are not objects to exert power on, nor are men animals who cannot ‘control’ themselves; It is no woman’s responsibility to make men think decently - men can and should do that themselves.
• Better Policing: Sure, it is impossible for the police to be everywhere, but having a better emergency response system may mean that atleast some victims can be saved. The police also have a big role to play in filing cases properly, and collecting evidence before it is damaged or erased.
• Faster and better enforcement of law; Laws against rape and harassment serve both as punishment for the culprit and as deterrent to potential criminals. But the speed at which cases in India move, means that few victims can see them through. The evidence gathering and prosection in many cases, is also shoddy. Are such cases really likely to serve as a deterrent? On the contrary, most culprits perhaps feel quite immune, especially the ones with political power or money behind them.

The first one will be slow in the making - public attitudes to women are still very, very primitive, on the whole. To deserve respect (and protection), women need to fit a whole lot of criteria. Certainly we condemn rape, but in a qualified way. Infact, even in the Emilie Griggs case, the judges seem to have been influenced by the fact that she was 59 years old and ought to have been viewed as a motherly figure. I don’t per se have an issue with respect for older women - in our country, it is common for any older woman to be seen as a mother and accorded that respect; But, did the judge need to make that a criteria for determining the gravity of the case? Surely younger women are no less deserving of respect. The Court of course, I presume, didn’t mean that, but the remarks on older women points to an uncomfortable hierarchy on the respect scale. It is going to take a long time to reach a state, where no woman, irrespective of age, economic status, manner of clothing and past sexual history, will be seen as a victim who ‘asked for it’. I am hopeful however, that we will get there one day. Perhaps the spread of education will play a role in it.

The second one will be slow to come about too. India’s police forces vary enormously across states in their evidence gathering and crime solving abilities; they are also often under-staffed, have poor infrastructure and little training. In some states, issues like militancy, naxalism and terrorist strikes take up most of the police’s resources - crimes against women are not likely to figure high on the radar.

Which leaves us with the Judiciary. In general, many of us repose a lot of faith in the Indian Judiciary. This seems to be the one arm of the administration, that hasn’t yet been totally corrupted - especially at the higher levels. The system is clogged of course, with far too few cases being seen and disposed, and many more awaiting their turn endlessly. Still, high profile cases are often reported extensively by the media, and judgements in the cases could serve as a warning. It won’t deter criminals completely - perhaps nothing will; but judicial aggressiveness in handing out punishments will help.

Depending on the judiciary alone is not a panacea for the sickening crimes against women. In the long term, it is social change that we need. Even if the majority of citizens are decent and law-abiding, there will always be some monsters around. Let’s not support them even a inch, by providing details of why certain women shouldn’t have been there.

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apu Women & Feminism