In this age of technology, everyone must have laughed on Indian home minister, Rajnath Singh’s outburst to ban the BBC documentary titled, ‘India’s Daughter’, on 2012 gang rape of a paramedical student, Jyoti Singh. What’s the point in hiding a reality under the carpet — the very reasons leading to this crime against humanity are not going away with the defeated mentality of a government official who is supposed to protect his people. Documentary, with no narrative but interviews of Jyoti’ parents, her rapist, lawyer and few historians, exposes the mindset of not only the rapists but also of their apologists. Unless you change this mindset coupled with judicial and administrative reforms, you should expect more worrisome news of enhanced brutality towards vulnerable women and girls. Rhetoric apart, do the society accept men and women are equal in all respects and are creation of the same God? Sadly, no. Our mindset molded over centuries of inequality between genders force us to believe women are creation of a lesser God.
Situation across the fence in Pakistan is no different. Frequent rape stories, even of minors as young as five-year-old, have lost their impact on the society’ conscious. That’s very evident from the attitude of governments, police, religious leaders and general public. One religious leader even objected to reporting of rape crimes as it may cause chaos in the society and bring shame to girl’s family. Despite efforts, Pakistan has not come out of the vicious cycle of crimes commissioned by military dictator, Zia-ul-Haq, against human dignity. One of his infamous ordinances requires rape victim to present four male eye witnesses of the crime; otherwise, she would be booked under the anti-adultery laws.
Hundreds of rape victims were jailed for crimes they never contested to. Since the elimination of Zia-ul-Haq in a plane crash, Pakistani society has long struggled to come out of the webs weaved by Zia and his cronies but so far has failed. Not long ago, a Karachi court released three rapists with honour, though proven guilty by DNA test results and during the identity parade; only because the victim couldn’t produce the eye witnesses of the crime scene. Religious leaders still support such judgments and reject DNA test results. Very reluctantly the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has recently termed the DNA test result as secondary evidence; primary evidence remains the eye witnesses’ observation.
Doesn’t matter if it’s India or Pakistan, it’s a matter of mindset wherein leading voices in power put blame squarely on the rape victim — why out of the home, why wear this or that, why so late, and so on. A society wherein falsified ‘honour’ of the family reaches to the level that rape of a girl is avenged by gang raping the girls of rapist’s family, shows the extent of satanic influence we have embraced as our values.
Rape will not go away, even with capital punishments; it’s a mindset issue, can’t be changed merely by slogans. Acceptance of gender equality has to start from one’s home — to consider women and girls not a personal property if at home or an object of entertainment if they step out. Where are the governments, writers, poets, intellectuals, educationists, jurists, media icons, religious leaders to spread the message of gender equality? Celebrating ‘International Women’s Day’ in five-star hotels along with snacks and photo sessions will not hide what’s going on in the urban slums, on the side streets, in the rural areas deeply divided by caste and feudal systems.
MASOOD KHAN
Jubail, Saudi Arabia