Does Indian Society Truly Believe in ‘Beti Bachao’?

There is anger on the streets of Kolkata and other cities. Doctors, nurses and hospital workers in many places are striking work to demand security for women staff after the heinous rape-murder of a young doctor. The government-run R.G. Kar Hospital’s response to the atrocity was typical – an attempt at a cover up. The girl’s parents were initially told it was a suicide.

Sadly, this is the story of almost every institution in the country. The first reaction of authorities to every incident of sexual violence is to pretend it didn’t happen, not report the matter to the police if possible, issue false statements to the media if it gets wind of the story, browbeat possible witnesses etc. etc. This is true of incidents in schools, on school buses, on college campuses and in workspaces. Even uglier are attempts to spread falsehoods, malign the victim and tear their reputation to shreds.  We have witnessed so many such cases, time and time again. Too many of them to list and recall.

Why is the maintaining the ‘reputation’ of institutions so vital to those who run them? This mindset must change. Won’t the reputation of an institution actually go up if there is transparent handling of such matters, an immediate inquiry followed by making public of an inquiry report, suspension and punishment of the perpetrators?

It is deeply regrettable that a woman Chief Minister like Mamata Banerjee handles the protests around a rape-murder by transferring a dubious principal to head yet another college! It is equally regrettable that an iconic woman MP like Mahua Moitra does not dare to issue an immediate statement on this awful crime and even blocks those who ask her about it on social media. As for the ruling Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) other MPs, one hears little or nothing from them.

The entire issue is being seen through the prism of party politics, not justice. Both Left and Right parties, especially their women’s groups, are on the attack, and correctly so. In West Bengal, the ruling TMC has long been accused of using goons to protect its turf and the late night (August 14) mob attack on protesters and the RG Kar hospital’s premises on and equipment arouses suspicion. The role of the police and the arrest of a ‘civil defence’ volunteer who gets a salary and sleeps in police barracks after the murder is highly suspect. The nature of the young woman’s injuries suggests gang rape. If so, who else is involved?

In past decades, we have seen increasing violence against women, in what is a backlash against their growing independence.  Post the women’s movement of the 1980s, more middle-class girls are getting educated, pursuing higher studies and professions, working odd hours when required. There are new opportunities for them in various jobs, ranging from IT executives in the software industry, to security guards in malls, to working as call centre operators in offices to doing assorted work in garments factories.  Shift duties, night duties are occupational hazards for these women. Factory towns, like Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, that depend heavily on the labour of young women, build well-guarded hostels to satisfy parents that their daughters will be safe while working far from home.

Working class women have, of course, always toiled in fields and farms. Caste hierarchies in feudal rural societies make Dalit and tribal women the most vulnerable to sexual abuse, exploitation and even rape and murder.  

In recent decades, the number of young girls going to schools in rural areas has gone up. This means that more girls are out there in public space, walking to school or taking buses. Once out of home, girls and women are vulnerable. In the ‘purdah’ culture prevalent in most parts of the country for centuries, public space has traditionally been reserved for males. Girls and women who ‘intrude’ into public spaces are seen as fair game by patriarchal men. Misogyny, patriarchy and caste play a vicious role in the victimisation of women.

Women who work in open public spaces, such as hospitals, are extra vulnerable given the large numbers of patients and their attendants who have access to these places. Nurses and women attendants have long been victims of sexual harassment, abuse and attacks, in many cases suffering silently. The public nature of this work, plus caste barriers that see it as ‘impure’ work, prevent many women from joining the profession. Those who do, try to stay safe by banding in groups when they leave work or while living in working women’s hostels and commuting together. Some big hospitals have attached hostels for nurses.

Even far more privileged workers, like journalists working night shifts, must brave violence on the streets. Recall TV journalist Soumya Viswanathan who was shot dead by criminals chasing her car one night in Delhi. 

India’s official work participation rates for women are still low but the limited government data is increasingly suspect. Some economists suggest that official statistics do not adequately capture women’s work participation rates.  While women’s roles are changing, society at large is unwilling to accept their new-found independence and often punishes it.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, on average, nearly 90 cases of rape were reported daily in India. Many more probably go undisclosed. During riots, rape and murder often go unreported or unpunished, with Manipur being the latest such example. Only a few cases get media coverage and become ‘causes’ in the national media, garnering attention from activists, women’s groups, politicians and even institutions, such as the largely compromised National Commission for Women and the National Human Rights Commission.      

The police, which have inherited a colonial mindset and an anti-people attitude, besides having inadequate forensic knowledge and poor forensic facilities, are rarely able to catch perpetrators of violence against women.  In many cases it is unwilling to do so. Corruption, too, plays a role as do political influences and machinations.

Our upper caste, upper class bureaucracy is largely indifferent to justice issues. The judiciary and the entire legal system ensure systematic delays in all investigations including crime investigations. There is an anxiety in the entire system to toe the government and ruling party line. The likes of Asaram Bapu and Ram Rahim, convicted for crimes against women, get parole liberally, as do the criminals in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case during the Gujarat 2002 riots. On the other side, political prisoners like over 80-year-old Stan Swamy (who died in jail), and other Bhima Koregaon accused and anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protestors languish in jail indefinitely.

The Hathras rape victim’s body is quietly burnt by the Uttar Pradesh police and unfortunate journalists, such as like Siddique Kappan get jailed under the anti-terror law UAPA (Unlawful Activities prevention Act) for merely trying to travel to Hathras for his professional assignment.  In this atmosphere, where is the chance for ordinary women to get justice? 

The parents of the Kolkata victim have a long nightmare ahead, dealing with the police, the CBI, the government and the judiciary, and hoping somehow, to get justice someday. This is the unfortunate experience of every family that has lost a daughter to sexual violence.  The question is, do we as a society believe in ‘beti bachao’? 

The writer is an independent journalist. She is also president of Delhi Union of Journalists. The views are personal.