by SHAZIA NIGAR
The recent Uber rape case once again shows that the public reaction and punishment meted out to rapists differ based on who the rapist is. Are we guilty of not only sustaining patriarchy but also reinforcing class/caste biases by reacting to rape with rage in only exclusive cases?
Outrage over the rape of a 26 year old by an Uber cab driver is flooding our timelines, newspaper columns, television shows, and mind space. It gives a sense of déjà vu, a reminder of Delhi of December 2012 after the rape and murder of a young woman by four inebriated men. That gruesome incident too made the headlines, got people to take to the streets, and forced the government to enact stronger laws against sexual harassment and rape.
The Uber rape case is not an anomaly. It is part of a rape culture that continues to thrive despite instances of selective outrage that followed the (now infamous) Delhi rape case of 2012. As per the National Crime Records Bureau, there has been a gradual increase in the number of reported cases of rape in the country from 24,923 in 2012 to 33,707 in 2013. On average, 93 cases of rape are reported each day. Many others are groped, molested, called names, stared at and sexually harassed in other ways. The existent social and political structures reproduce a patriarchal culture where women are consigned to an inferior position in power relations and in status. Rape is a violent mechanism used by an individual or a group to maintain their dominance over a group. Rape is about power, not lust.
Between 2012 and 2014, many gruesome incidents made their way to the inside pages of the newspapers. Muslim women were raped as Muzzaffarnagar burned in communal riots preceding the Lok Sabha elections. In March this year, four Dalit girls from Bhagana, Haryana, were abducted, drugged, and raped. When they regained consciousness they found themselves in Punjab. According to a report in DNA, a tribal woman in Madhya Pradesh was allegedly gang raped by 10 people, including her husband in June. She was then paraded naked and forced to drink urine in front of her minor son. In all these instances rape wasn’t about an inebriated man satiating his lust. It is worth reiterating what some others have been pointing out for a while– that sexual violence in these cases exist in conjunction with other forms of oppression, i.e., the victims of sexual violence are often also religious minority/caste oppressed/class oppressed.
The Delhi police in response to the Uber case have decided to use drones with night vision cameras to patrol areas in North District as a preventive measure. Use of drones to prevent rape is only inching towards an Orwellian nightmare. It won’t prevent rape but it does raise concerns towards increased moral policing. Besides, who is it meant for? The young-urban-Delhi-woman out on the streets at night? What about rapes that take place in Delhi’s slums when a woman wants to relieve herself at night? Or when a daily wage labourer is raped in Arunachal? Or when young Dalit girls are raped by upper caste men? That the Uber rape case in not an anomaly is something we need to keep in mind while framing new laws or putting preventive measures in place. We need an inclusive approach that caters to people across social, political and geographical locations.
In the Uber case there was swift action by the Delhi police and the accused driver Shiv Kumar Yadav is now in judicial custody for 14 days. Kudos to the government. Yet, in complete contradiction to the swift action in this case, rape accused Union Minister Nihal Chand Meghwal from the BJP roams scot free. He remains a minister in the Central government, albeit in another Ministry. Nihal Chand failed to show up at a Jaipur court on two occasions. While the Rajasthan police claimed that he is missing, he was spotted in Delhi on 11 November taking charge of a new department. This wasn’t his first public appearance since he has been declared ‘missing’. As per a report on NDTV, he ‘made multiple appearances in Ganganagar and has even been photographed with the district’s top police officer Hari Prasad Sharma, who had been ordered to ensure that the Minister received the court summons.’ The ridiculousness of the situation has led to Nihal Chand being known as the ‘missing Minister’. Why is it that we witness swift action when the accused belongs to a particular section of society and have our heads buried in sand when it is a high profile Minister?
Shiv Kumar Yadav has to be tried. But meting out stringent punishment to Shiv Kumar Yadav and banning Uber won’t prevent rape. The act of rape is only a particular manifestation of patriarchy deeply embedded in our lives. They reflect on us, they show us a mirror to what we have become. At the root of the December 16 incident and the current Uber case is not lust driving men to commit rape. It is the firewater of patriarchy they were taking a swig from. We all do, and we need to stop.
(The above article first appeared the website Hard News.)
(Thanks to Mukul Dube)