However, while the focal point of the protests is ‘Gasht-e-Ershad’ or ‘guidance patrol’ – the unit of Iran’s police responsible for moral policing, the protests are also a clarion call to female fraternity globally to stand up against the oppression and defend their rights.
The protests in cities and towns of Iran are a wake-up call not just for women but also for the governments of the day and societies globally. Unofficial figures state that more than 50 lives have been lost until Saturday as protests and violence continue in Iran, which has witnessed defiance of the conservative dictates of the government.
In India, the murder of a 19-year-old girl, Ankita Bhandari, near Rishikesh, in Pauri district of Uttarakhand has led to a huge backlash and vandalism and subsequent demolition of the resort where the girl worked as receptionist. The fault of the girl, she allegedly refused to provide ‘special services’ (to be understood as sexual favours) to the resort’s clients.
Globally all societies and religious communities need to introspect the reality of the written word vis-à-vis the actions. Religious texts as well as Constitutions of sovereign nations, democratic and otherwise, speak of rights of women and policies are framed to ensure the progress of the other half of the population, but seldom are enforced in the same spirit as the words.
Abrahamic religions provide for the freedom of choice and hence have the concept of ‘Day of Judgment’ where every individual born on planet Earth, female and male, will be subject to questioning and based on performance during their lifetime will either be rewarded or punished. Hence, it is paramount that this golden rule be exercised and practised by all those who believe that the doom’s day is near if not far.
However, it is equally a subject matter of introspection for societies irrespective of their religious beliefs and written law of the land.
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data released on August 29, earlier this year revealed that crime against women in India in 2021 had risen by 15 per cent in comparison to the year 2020. However, if compared over the decade, oppression of women has increased 87 per cent between 2011 and 2021. And these are just the official figures with a large population of the country having either little access to police stations or have the fear to even reach out to one, given the stigma it carries for a woman to stand up against men in India.
The question of a dress code for women has been a subject of debate and discussion not just in the dark ages of the country when education and illiteracy were a norm, but even today when the country celebrates ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’. The freedom of choice as a fundamental right is infrequently exercised by the estimated 48 per cent of the female population of the country.
Our country does not have a moral policing unit in its Executive branch; nevertheless the ‘guidance patrol’ is ingrained in our cultural (mis)ethos and has been passed on by every generation to the next.
India today celebrates National Daughters Day. However, the celebration remains counter-intuitive when the nation is witness to a crime against a woman every three minutes. It’s appalling and counter-productive for a young nation.
Whether, Mehsa Amini in Tehran or an Ankita Bhandari in India, every daughter should have the freedom of choice. A daughter ought to have the fundamental right and freedom to choose her destiny and also the path to that destiny.
