Sexual Violence and Patriarchy

Rape is a fate worse than death.

Consider carefully the term 'rape' and its implications. Would anyone ever say that rape is acceptable? From the most complacent patriarch to the angriest feminist , all  would declare rape to be a terrible crime. But the apparent consensus is mythical as the reasons behind arriving at this opinion are diametrically opposite. For patriarchal forces , rape is evil because it is a crime against the honor of the family , whereas feminists denounce rape because it is a crime against the autonomy and bodily integrity of a woman.

This difference in understanding rape naturally leads differential proposals to fight rape. In the patriarchal perspective , rape is a fate worse than death ; there is no normal life possible for a raped woman. Thus the way to avoid rape is to lock woman up in homes , within the family , under patriarchal controls. In this understanding the raped woman is responsible for the crime against her as she 'dared to cross the lakshman rekha of time ( by going out after dark ) or the lakshman rekha of respectability ( by dressing in unconventional ways or by leaving 4 walls of the home at all ).

Considering the ' Lakshman rekha of respectability ' , every woman knows that positions marked ' Susheel aurat ( good woman ) and ' baazaru aurat ( bad woman )  are not stable and fixed. Every woman lives in constant knowledge of how easy it is to fall from the light side into the dark side and how impossible it is , once fallen to ever get back into the light. An unthinking gesture , a careless physical movement , a wrong kind of dress in public place or at home and suddenly that's it! - You are exposed a prostitute!!.

Restricting mobility of women as a remedy to avoid rape.

 The patriarch's favorite argument is that if women are restricted at homes they would be less vulnerable to be raped. However statistics suggest that women are more likely to face  violence at home that outside. In fact in public it is men who face more violence ( from other men ). Despite this it is women who are advised to stay at home while men roam around freely.

This patriarchal view of sexual crimes has also seeped into our laws. Up until 2013 , Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code which deals with rape as a crime recognized only penetration of vagina by penis as rape. All the other forms of sexual assault such as penetration by objects or in case of very young girls by a finger did not constitute rape. They were covered under sections on 'outraging a woman's modesty' and carried a smaller punishment.

This definition was based on patriarchal notions of chastity , virginity , premium on marriage and fear of female sexuality. Penetration may lead to pregnancies by other men and is thus a greater threat to patrilineal property rights and patriarchal power structure than other kinds of sexual assaults. In other crimes injury caused by weapons is taken more seriously and attracts higher punishment. However in sexual crimes injury caused by iron rods , bottles or sticks is considered a lesser crime.

Thus what can we conclude? It is the patriarchal mindset which argues that rape is a fate worse than death. A person who recovers from a deadly attack is respected in society for their strength however a rape victim is never accepted back into the society. It is a mechanism to control female sexuality and make women live in constant fear of avoid getting raped thus succumbing to the patriarchal diktats.

Women are constantly slut shamed when they try to get out of sexual restrictions imposed by patriarchy.

Another factor which supplements this fear among women is the casual use of slangs such as 'whore' , 'slut' , 'besharam' ,  ' chinaal' etc. All these terms are shown in derogatory light as it represents those women who have broken from the chains restricting their sexuality.

Women constantly find themselves arguing futilely that ' just because I go out to work/smoke/drink/enjoy male company etc. doesnt make me a 'whore'.Feminists argue  that the response to being called such names should not be to protest fruitlessly. They should turn around and ask ' What makes you think this is an insult? '. What if all women were to be 'loose' - not tightly controlled. If that would make all women whores , if all women are bad , then patriarchy had better watch out!!.

Feminism is a movement of the women , by the women and for the women.

This doesn't require 'Mansplaining'!.

Amit Chauhan

  

The contents of this blog are inspired from the book '  Seeing Like  a Feminist ' by Nivedita Menon.