The Moga rape incident where another young girl has died is a horrific sequel to the Nirbhaya case that happened at Delhi. From the time of the Nirbhaya case, nothing really has changed across India and particularly in the northern parts like Delhi and UP in terms of the manner of looking at women. The problem has been that in spite of the feel-good clucking noises that successive governments have made on improving the lot of women, the objectification of women in the minds of men as something to be used and discarded for pleasure remains. Fast tracking rape cases in the courts has also not helped. In the meanwhile, the documentary by the BBC on one of the Nirbhaya case accused has only added to the legend of bravado that is associated with the rape of helpless girls and women. We need to look at this whole issue seriously and without any bias and progressively improve the manner in which our women are projected, be it in films or television. Unless we do this, we will continue to see these horrific rape incidents dotting our social landscape time and again. We need to avoid taking the opinions of some of these emancipated women who come on our television debates or vent their opinions through the print media since they consciously ignore or behave as if they are completely unaware of the real world where these incidents of rape happen. These commentators constitute a small minority of westernized or assumed -values individuals which have no real place in the world where Bharat lives. Because in this Bharat, there is no female emancipation and the male writ runs large and this is what needs to be changed. These women who are supposed spokeswomen for the female gender should involve themselves more in changing the image of women as represented in our films and television by reducing body exposure, resist objectification and project women as useful and equal partners in economic life. In a sense, women themselves are the greatest enemies of the female gender and unless this attitude of anything-goes changes, we will continue to see many such Nirbhaya incidents across India.
Mogha’s Nirbhaya
