Dear Twitter Family,
Thanks to each and everyone of you to have empathized with me following my post on groping & sexual harassment in public places (& of-course everywhere including within families). It feels very supportive to see voices condemning this cruelty, demanding action & safety of women. There has been many good suggestions & also tagging to concerned authorities demanding action & accountability. My heartfelt thanks.
Amidst these there has been few tweets bringing in their ‘political agenda’ in place saying this is the plight in DMK ruling TN & BJP would have taken immediate action. We all know what is happening in BJP led state. This is utterly insensitive to bring in party politics in this.
Harassment against women have been happening since ages, and major discussion is around punishment, arrests, encounter, cut of their bxxs etc!
Some suggested learn martial arts, pepper spray, attack immediately and so on. I thank you for this care & concern. However, one ought to understand, it takes a while for us to realize what just happened to us! By then the perpetrator is gone! And in crowded places it is not possible to quickly identify who is that psycho. At times they would be a gang, it is not safe to immediately retaliate! (am talking reality. not the utopian patriarchal bravery-veeram here).
My dear friends, this is a Systemic Issue! I am trying to bring in attention towards “why this is happening repeatedly even when there are enough punishment codes available?” Criminals know that they can even be hanged, but how do they do this? Including domestic violence and so on?
The real issue is the “condition of women” here (entire world). I want people to see the larger picture of ‘gender inequality’ & question this and urge governments (across India) to work on gender sensitization programs, gender education (not just sex education), improving the conditions of women, women empowerment, campaigns and programs against the regressive Patriarchal Culture here! Do people even know about what is Patriarchy (ஆணாதிக்கம்!). No, not many!
I want women to be treated well in all the places, men have to be sensitized on this without glorifying ‘femineity, motherhood, the sacrificial goat kind of thing… , she is Annaporani, the saviour of lives and so on’. I want the gender roles to be questioned!
The right to education, right to health (how many women are malnourished & anaemic), right to reproductive health, right to exist (female infanticide), right to be moral-policing free – strict punishment against slut shaming, moral policing about their dress, boy friends, personal life, cultural pressure etc… I DEMAND CULTURAL REVOLUTION, yes GENDER code REVIVAL!
We need psychological study on all MEN who have been arrested for crimes against women, especially Sexual Crimes! We ought to know their mindset, then only we can treat this pandemic! The infectious disease!
I want the aware ones to emphasize on the above!
This doesn’t mean I am not demanding any police action! Yes I do, because under given ‘system’ the only option is that. However, let’s practically question how many such instances can police attend to? The volume of Sexual Harassment crime is huge amidst other crimes & upon this their ‘bureaucratic’ duties as well! Do they have enough force to cater to this volume of problems? What will be their priority amidst this lack of force! And there is also a systemic issue, because of the Patriarchal Upbringing & the cultural values that has been inculcated to them! The treatment that people receive, the questions that are asked is because of the ‘system’ here! It is no more an ‘individual’ problem, neither a ‘department’ problem.
In my case, police did get into action immediately & went to nearby buildings to access the CCTV, however he could not be caught for whatever reasons! I panicked when it happened to my daughter again, I felt dejected, horrible, disgusting, traumatic and immediately shifted my place of residence. Yes, the lack of action has hurt me badly!
However, as a Marxist I always want to address the ‘base’ – the root cause of the problem! That’s why I am putting it on the social media for a discussion that will question the ‘plight of women’ here, than the police action or inaction, whose rule it happens etc.
And ofcourse, Men are also affected! And there are big problems equally – casteism, religious hatred crimes, Economic problems, unemployment issues, Poverty, Racism and what not! All these problems – the problems of Men, Women, Queer People – reflecting in the above forms are all interconnected!
First a group is oppressed, the other gets power to humiliate, exploit, harass, kill, lay behavioural rules – in the name of culture & religion! Has this been questioned by the larger masses? Are they even aware of this? I mean the gender inequality, the plight of women, the Patriarchy & gender-based Exploitation – in labour, family system, socio-cultural front, Political front and so on?
No! except for few, majority is not aware of the disparity, discrimination, subjugation, oppression & exploitation which has been there forever! Anyone who question this is a ‘slut’, culturally immoral person! This moral policing threat scares women to just abide by the rules & accept subjugation. They condition themselves to be a woman of Patriarchal virtues! They are scared to go against their gender roles! They are scared to question the system! They believe that they are ‘secondary’! & Men are conditioned to be above Women! They believe that they have the power!
Men believe that –
- they have the power to ‘take’ anything from women
- they have the power to control women & keep them under their feet!
- Women are ‘made’ to plea them, sexually satisfy them – they are mere sex objects. (good example is the ‘item’ dance in cinemas).
- The Patriarchal-feudal cultural-familial upbringing give them the power to moral police & abuse! & more ofcourse – the list goes on!
The society is such! This reflects in the bureaucracy as well! That is why we see insensitive approach, judgements against women, lack of action / slut shaming / victim blaming, asking women to ‘behave’ and so on even in administrative & security systems.
The socio-cultural upbringing since ages has made a man a beast! (sorry to say this!) While there has to be strict action against these beasts for their brutal, cruel crimes, there has to be a sensible / gender sensitive approach to this whole thing – THE PLIGHT OF WOMEN, needs attention! Quick & Serious attention – a Feminist View is needed (rather Marxist-Socialist-Feminist) view is needed.
It is needed in the bureaucratic system itself. The ‘rulers’ themselves lack this understanding! They still think ‘woman’ is a ‘woman’ – an embodiment of ‘femineity’ as per the scared texts! For hells sake, please come out of this!
I want the Governments to come up with programs for CHANGE!
I DEMAND CULTURAL REVOLUTION, yes GENDER code REVIVAL! gender DISCRIMINATION has to stop!
EDUCATE, EMPOWER WOMEN, ESTABLISH GENDER EQUALITY! – GIVE US A MANIFESTO FOR THIS!
This is not an easy task I know, but start atleast now! Before you lose your daughters & beti’s to some scum! STOP this systemic genocide on Women!
What is going to be the Governments’ action to stop this?
Every time a crime against a woman happens, I request the masses to question this – WHERE IS THE MANIFESTO FOR GENDER EQUALITY!
I want THE WOMAN MANIFESTO for social change!
Let’s demand “We want THE WOMAN MANIFESTO”!
If you agree with me, please retweet this “We want THE WOMAN MANIFESTO” tagging PMO & CMO office & concerned authorities.
Thank you,
With love & regards
Kotravai.
* This issue demands an extensive writing. I have just given a snippet here, to get some attention towards the plight of women & the Patriarchal cultural upbringing that enables, empowers men to do crime against women!
I have been
related links: https://masessaynotosexism.wordpress.com/2020/06/29/feminism-beyond-patriarchy-2/