Punish barbaric criminals

The series of videos gone viral, showing horribly demeaning acts inflicted upon a young woman of East Delhi, are emblematic of a number of social ills that continue to plague our oppressively patriarchal society. Unfortunately, despite the strides made in the education and economic fields, the mindset of showing a strong woman her place by abusing, assaulting and humiliating her prevails. That the perpetrators of this heinous crime had the audacity to publicly degrade the victim and take on the jury’s role is a shameful pointer to the utter disregard for law and order. Being known goons of the area, indulging in illicit liquor and drug trades, they were emboldened as people tended to stay out of their crosshairs.

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For, what else would motivate a family, including its women members, to take such horrifying revenge on another woman? The 21-year-old married woman was abducted and confined to a room full of men and women of the accused family. Ignoring her pleadings for mercy, she was assaulted, her head tonsured and face blackened. She was even allegedly gangraped in that room. Then, she was paraded in the streets with a garland of shoes around her neck. What was her fault? That she had rebuffed the unwanted overtures of their teenaged son and was thus responsible for the scorned son taking his own life? What a barbaric thought! Justice for the victim demands quick and exemplary punishment for the criminals.

Children must be raised into men and women who respect one another. The boys, especially, should be ingrained with the value of treating girls as respectable equals. But, sadly, the impressionable youngsters are exposed to the culture of patriarchy, both within and outside homes. This becomes the root cause of relationship problems and reduces the woman’s body to being a tool of abuse and exploitation. The gender sensitivity theme must be played out in schools, colleges and the media and on influential platforms like religious places and political bodies. Coupled with progressive ideas practised in homes, it will make a dent in India’s shameful gender crime statistics.