In 2012 the world of sexual violence exploded in India with the gang rape and murder of a 23 year old medical student in New Delhi with a case that is now referenced to in all current rape cases. A documentary, India’s Daughter, was made detailing the circumstances of the rape and the ripple effects after the rape case, but here are the basic details. Jyoti Sing and a male friend went to see a movie on a week day and were returning home on a bus before 9PM when Jyoti was gang raped on the bus before being dumped on the street where she was later discovered and taken to a hospital. Not only was she gang raped but some of her lower organs were removed and mutilated with a metal bar that was also used to rape her. She survived 12 days after the attack before passing away. All 6 men involved in the attack were arrested and all received the death penalty. The weeks following the rape there were massive riots and protests in the streets of New Delhi where police shot tear gas, water cannoned protestors, and beat any difficult participants. One of the younger teachers at Daly College actually attended these protests and it was amazing to hear her story of what happened and when she, her mother, and sister made the decision to leave for fear of their own safety when tear gas was being released. India’s Daughter opened up the discussion board for sexual violence and rape, ultimately directing attention to the status of women in India.
I believe the core of the rape and sexual violence issue is the low status of women. Boys are consistently favored over girls. Boys are sent to school and fed more leaving girls at home, malnourished, and at risk for sexual assault. According to the World Economic Forum's 2015 Gender Gap report, India ranks 108th in the world for the opportunities it gives women. India's women rank 136th in the world for labor force participation; 127th in the world for their literacy rate; 115th in the world for representation in parliament.
I have faced discrimination in the US based on my gender and I have experienced it here in India as well. In India for me and my girl friends our status in society is lower but not to the extent expressed in the facts and figures above. We are living in a economic class, middle to upper class, that grants more equality to girls or at least hides their prejudices better in order to be more modern, more international, more Western. In my opinion the false equality given to girls in higher classes is just as bad as the blatant inequality among genders in lower classes of society. We are made to think that we have a voice when we really don’t, it’s like giving someone a microphone and not plugging it in or assembling a crowd, it’s demeaning and disrespectful.
*Break for brief personal note*
I am an exchange student. I am basically a student diplomat especially because I have program sponsors, and plenty of them at that. I have lots of people looking at my and criticizing my actions and words. I have not been perfect. I have messed up and I’m sure I have said things that were not welcomed or not said in the most polite manner.
I could write a whole novel with personal experiences about inequality and give specific instances and stories I have been told by my friends that have made me physically repulsed. As much as I want to be an open book and share everything I have seen and gone through here I know that is not the smartest decision. I may not find a career in the government or diplomacy but if anyone needs someone to write a bitterly truthful report or do some independent journalism I am there.
With these things in mind please know that I am not sharing as much as I had hoped to but I am sharing what is most important to me, the ever confusing world of subtle inequality. If you, the reader, exes out of my blog post with a better understanding of the REAL world of inequality in India and how confusing and indirect it is my goal will be realized.
*End personal note*
At home, my San Antonio, Texas, home, I feel comfortable wearing whatever I choose, transparent shirts, short shorts (or daisy dukes as the older generation may know them), and dresses that cling to every curvature of my body. Here not so much. I know that I could choose to wear those things but the societal pressure I would face would be enough to make me want to melt into a puddle on the floor. Staring is a huge moving force here and it is one that girls really struggle with. Confronting the problem only makes it worse and draws even more unwanted attention. Here is a great PSA released in 2013 that does a really great job of portraying how girls are seen in society and how slight and indistinct these acts against women are.
That shoving, whispering, and staring from the boys is something I have dealt with my whole year here, not only am I a girl but I am a gori girl, a white, foreign girl. I get stares if I wear Western or Indian dress, I can't win, and in turn I make those I am with uncomfortable as they also have to endure extra unwanted attention. Not only am I humiliated by being stared at like a tourist attraction but I also end up shaming those in my company. People may say that I may choose to wear whatever I want and act however I want with freedom but in a society that allows this kind of silent shaming behavior from men and women alike what choice do girls really have? This is the kind of indirect discrimination and shaming girls are really struggling with, not being told directly that their clothes or actions are unapproved.
In many social situations older men ignore me and Lauren only shaking hands and listening to Liam and Sam, our male exchange counterparts, acknowledging us only as fixtures and ascetically pleasing items. I am eternally grateful for Liam for always trying his best to give us a platform on which to speak and redirect people’s attention to us when we are looked over. I think women should fight tooth and nail for their equality and rights but men should not stand idle either. We need more Liam’s, more boys to join the fight. As much as I want to be independent I know girls need to accept the help of others because what is equality if it is only achieved with the sweat and efforts of one gender?
This shame that is used within Indian society and societies all over the world to shame girls for making independent decisions, shame girls for being raped or abused, or shame girls for not being submissive needs to cease to exist if we hope to have success in gender equality. Once girls are given their microphone with a crowd and a loud volume and societies words of acceptance and striving for equality match their actions then we can start to tackle bigger issues suck as sexual violence and abuse.
Half of India’s population are Bharat Mata’s daughters and the other half are her sons. India needs to accept her daughters as equals and protect them while educating her sons and instilling respect and compassion in them as a basic core value.