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India gang-rape sentencing shows attitudes to women are changing India gang-rape sentencing shows attitudes to women are changing
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As a teenager growing up in Delhi I was regularly sexually harassed. I never made a complaint, though, because I never thought this harassment was out of the ordinary. I assumed that's how the world was. That all women, all over the world, were hounded in public. That we were cautious and fearful; and that every day someone would say or do something to underscore our extreme vulnerability.As a teenager growing up in Delhi I was regularly sexually harassed. I never made a complaint, though, because I never thought this harassment was out of the ordinary. I assumed that's how the world was. That all women, all over the world, were hounded in public. That we were cautious and fearful; and that every day someone would say or do something to underscore our extreme vulnerability.
I assumed that all women forfeit their right to be safe, to be treated decently, to dress as they please, to say what they think. That it was our lot to exist as less than a full human being, rather than to live, freely, as men did. Even in my 20s, after I started to discuss these matters with girlfriends, it was with the full acceptance that men could not change. We didn't depend on institutions to enforce change, either; we had never seen them work. I wasn't even sure what the police were good for. We took for granted that we had to protect ourselves. But how many men could we berate or beat?I assumed that all women forfeit their right to be safe, to be treated decently, to dress as they please, to say what they think. That it was our lot to exist as less than a full human being, rather than to live, freely, as men did. Even in my 20s, after I started to discuss these matters with girlfriends, it was with the full acceptance that men could not change. We didn't depend on institutions to enforce change, either; we had never seen them work. I wasn't even sure what the police were good for. We took for granted that we had to protect ourselves. But how many men could we berate or beat?
Last December, a young woman was brutally raped and murdered on a bus in Delhi. In the immediate aftermath, it was the spirited anti-rape protestors who demanded and saw change. The police reacted with unusual speed, and it took under nine months for the court to deliver a verdict, with the ultimate sentence of death handed to four of her killers.Last December, a young woman was brutally raped and murdered on a bus in Delhi. In the immediate aftermath, it was the spirited anti-rape protestors who demanded and saw change. The police reacted with unusual speed, and it took under nine months for the court to deliver a verdict, with the ultimate sentence of death handed to four of her killers.
The speed and severity of sentencing is unheard of in India, where 30 million cases await judgment in courts across the country. 90,000 involve rape. And beyond the court case itself, the impact on Indian society has been profound. It is as though the air has cleared of a dense fog. Everyone, it seems, is speaking out. The word rape – rarely a part of either public rhetoric or private conversation – is now spoken openly.The speed and severity of sentencing is unheard of in India, where 30 million cases await judgment in courts across the country. 90,000 involve rape. And beyond the court case itself, the impact on Indian society has been profound. It is as though the air has cleared of a dense fog. Everyone, it seems, is speaking out. The word rape – rarely a part of either public rhetoric or private conversation – is now spoken openly.
Women are sharing their experiences of harassment or violence, not just with close friends, but family. They are going public, posting photographs of their attackers on social media. It is no longer impossible, in middle-class India at least, to express an opinion on women's rights. And it's possible to imagine that the police, the courts, and our elected officials, might do their job.Women are sharing their experiences of harassment or violence, not just with close friends, but family. They are going public, posting photographs of their attackers on social media. It is no longer impossible, in middle-class India at least, to express an opinion on women's rights. And it's possible to imagine that the police, the courts, and our elected officials, might do their job.
And significant changes are happening. In March, the government toughened the laws on sexual crimes, showing that justice for women needn't be mere idealism, or only viable in countries with a small population, a large GDP, or a mainstream feminist movement.And significant changes are happening. In March, the government toughened the laws on sexual crimes, showing that justice for women needn't be mere idealism, or only viable in countries with a small population, a large GDP, or a mainstream feminist movement.
Many changes will have long-term consequences. The speedy conclusion of the trial, while entirely due to its high profile, has encouraged women who might have otherwise refused to go to the police – fearing humiliation or dismissal – to do so. It has created, if not an outright sense of entitlement to justice, at least a cautious interest in requesting it. After the prompt arrest of five men in India's most recent high-profile gang-rape – that of a 22-year-old photojournalist in Mumbai last month – another woman came forward to say that she'd been gang-raped by the same group of men several months ago.Many changes will have long-term consequences. The speedy conclusion of the trial, while entirely due to its high profile, has encouraged women who might have otherwise refused to go to the police – fearing humiliation or dismissal – to do so. It has created, if not an outright sense of entitlement to justice, at least a cautious interest in requesting it. After the prompt arrest of five men in India's most recent high-profile gang-rape – that of a 22-year-old photojournalist in Mumbai last month – another woman came forward to say that she'd been gang-raped by the same group of men several months ago.
The media is now saturated with news of sexual assaults. And this ubiquity, activists say, suggests not so much as a dramatic increase in rapes, as a rise in the number of reported cases. An unspoken agreement by the media to highlight violence against women has kept the subject in the national conversation. News of an attack is no longer squirrelled away in the back pages, but grabs headlines outright, almost as though it was a breaking story on politics or cricket – the two things all Indians agree are worth talking about.The media is now saturated with news of sexual assaults. And this ubiquity, activists say, suggests not so much as a dramatic increase in rapes, as a rise in the number of reported cases. An unspoken agreement by the media to highlight violence against women has kept the subject in the national conversation. News of an attack is no longer squirrelled away in the back pages, but grabs headlines outright, almost as though it was a breaking story on politics or cricket – the two things all Indians agree are worth talking about.
This doesn't mean that women no longer suffer sexual violence. As many as 1,098 cases of rape have been reported to the Delhi police so far this year. Nor does it mean that somewhere in India a pregnant woman is praying not for a son, but for a daughter. Even now, for a woman, merely walking in public is fraught with challenges. But it would be wrong to not appreciate the changes that have taken place. It would be wrong, because it will discourage us. What has started must not stop, for only then will we reach a place where a young woman doesn't have to die, so that other women may live freely.This doesn't mean that women no longer suffer sexual violence. As many as 1,098 cases of rape have been reported to the Delhi police so far this year. Nor does it mean that somewhere in India a pregnant woman is praying not for a son, but for a daughter. Even now, for a woman, merely walking in public is fraught with challenges. But it would be wrong to not appreciate the changes that have taken place. It would be wrong, because it will discourage us. What has started must not stop, for only then will we reach a place where a young woman doesn't have to die, so that other women may live freely.
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