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Battling besharmi
Do the recent besharmi morchas, following in the footsteps of the
much-publicised
Pink Chaddi Campaign of 2009, prove that the situation of women in public
places
has not improved? And are such movements a better way for women to fight the
battle for respect in public spaces and homes? Vimla Patil
checks out
As a movement, the slut walks are a recent development in India
Following
the first-ever ‘slut walk’ in Toronto in April, 2011, to protest
against sexist remarks and attitudes in public life, Indian women,
too, have decided to express their anger at the disrespect they face
in daily life as well as in offices and homes.
 Getting
together protest groups, they planned their first slut walk in Bhopal,
which has recorded the highest rape cases in India in recent times.
Though Indian women dressed conservatively compared to their Canadian
sisters, the walk, named besharmi morcha, attracted a great
deal of attention from the media as well as the public. More recently,
another slut walk was held in Delhi, and this is to be followed by one
more in Mumbai in September.
The besharmi morchas are
not the first movement that fights for the respect of women in public
spaces and in homes. Earlier, too, events like the Pink Chaddi
Campaign have drawn the attention of Indian society to the treatment
women get in public spaces. In this case, the Sri Rama Sena, headed by
violent conservative segments of society, had attacked women in a pub
in Mangalore, Karnataka, saying that the women’s behaviour had ‘violated
Indian cultural norms’. Though police protection was offered to the
women and a huge hue and cry was made by the media and activists, the
movement soon died down. This incident was followed by the Pink Chaddi
Campaign by women all over the country, wherein they called for a
peaceful protest by sending pink chaddis to the office of the
head of the Sri Rama Sena, Pramod Muthalik. There were reports also of
his face being blackened by protesters. Though this campaign received
copious media coverage, it petered out in due course.
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Women in the West, like these participants in Philadelphia, have taken the lead in using slut walks as a form of protest
Photo: AP/PTI
The besharmi morcha in New Delhi garnered a good response and plenty of media coverage
Photos: Manas Ranjan Bhui
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Similarly, in
Maharashtra, Valentine’s Day has seen violence and harassment of
young women and their friends.
Surprisingly, these
protests are happening in India just when the world is recognising
women’s contribution to the galloping Indian economy, which is
unique in the present gloom of recession in the western world. The
Harvard Business Review says that the emerging economy of India puts
unprecedented opportunities as well as challenges in front of working
women — and the challenges specific to India are numerous. The
present generation of Indian women, who are seeking a new world of
financial self-reliance and excellence, have been raised as ‘equals’
by their parents where education, opportunities and personal space are
concerned. But marriage often changes all this. Once married, they
face innumerable social and familial pressures to ‘attend to their
domestic duties first’ and then only look for career success. It is
also significant that Indian men do not like wives earning more money
or fame than themselves and a large number of marriages end bitterly
because of a wife’s high position, high income and the resulting
independence of thought and action.
Statistics say that
Indian women often work over 60 hours in a week to prove their worth
and to compete for higher jobs. Additionally, sexual harassment or
gender discrimination is a silent part of the discouragement. While
rabid sexual harassment can go against a male colleague, subtle talk
or gestures, which hide behind the dark cloak of camaraderie, can
often not be proven but become an irritant for a hard-working woman.
Though the Vishakha Guidelines, set by the Supreme Court, decree that
committees of employees and social workers have to be set up in all
workplaces to resolve such cases, this has not been put into practice
and cases of gender bias or sexual harassment continue to dog the
footsteps of ambitious women.
However, this machinery,
too, has not been effective, with employers giving no importance to
the rules. Of course, these rules do not apply to the street behaviour
of roadside romeos, who harass women in public transport or on the
roads.
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What women can do to avoid sexual harassment
Activists and
psychologists offer a five-point formula.
z First,
a woman must be extremely aware of her surroundings and the men
she works or spends time with. Diplomacy is the answer to many
intrusions into her private space. Her antennas should give her
clues as to where things are leading in case a colleague or any
man in public life or in the family becomes ‘over friendly’.
Women, brought up in a free atmosphere at home, do not quickly
realise the dangers of camaraderie and thus do not know when to
ring the alarm bell.
z Second,
women who spend over 60 hours in office to compete for higher
jobs/incomes must be aware that closeness to male colleagues is
often misunderstood. Guys often take such women for granted and
what follows is embarrassment to the woman.
z Third,
in several cases, women are scared to expose the men who are
sexually harassing them for various reasons. They just stay away
from the man and hope that he will get the message. If a woman,
for an important reason, cannot risk a disclosure or complaint
against a man in a superior position, she should retire to her
own space, avoiding being alone with such a man as far as
possible.
z Fourthly,
women must understand the verbal or physical sexual harassment
is a show of male dominance and ego. Reports of the
International Labour Organisation say that sexual harassment is
also rampant all over the world because women are perceived as
weak and powerless and culturally trained to suffer silently.
So, the answer is to strengthen one’s defences and feel
empowered as a group or as a family. Such instances must be
brought to light at least with trusted relatives, friends or
colleagues.
z Lastly,
in workplaces or social groups, women can hang in together to
deal with such men. As a group, which is vocal, they must
radiate a no-nonsense spirit and stick together in times of
trouble.
Apart from these
steps, women must familiarise themselves with sexual harassment
laws.
There are
procedures in place for complaints of sexual harassment in all
government and public sector companies as well as in corporate
houses.
Rules and
regulations may be demanded even in private enterprises or small
industries.
Women have the
right to ask for good working conditions to ensure health,
hygiene, gender equality and a no-hostility atmosphere. She has
the right to have an equal-opportunity working atmosphere in her
workplace.
If the act of
sexual harassment amounts to a crime, it comes under the Indian
Penal Code and can be reported to the law-enforcement
authorities. A woman who suffers sexual harassment can ask to
work in a more suitable department or seek the transfer of the
offender.
However, the
public morchas, which are beginning to bring women
together for this issue, may soon become a larger movement with
right-thinking men joining in the effort. Together, they can
find remedies to make women feel more secure in their workplaces
and public life.
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Pink
Chaddi & beyond
Shortly
after the
Pink Chaddi Campaign, a group of activists started a Facebook
group to exchange views. This was hacked and threats and sexist
slurs were added to the comments. Eventually, Facebook, unable
to control the hacking, disabled the account and stopped any
access to its contents. Activists of  the
group
are no longer on Facebook. Does this mean that all such
campaigns are a bubble in the air? Are they newsworthy because
they are ‘hot’ news for a while and then the media has more
important things to talk about? Can it be that a huge number of
Indians secretly believe that women are the ‘weaker sex’ and
should obey social and cultural rules to be safe? There have
been many crusades like ‘The Village’ by Jyothi Ramalingam
for disadvantaged women and several websites advocate women’s
rights. "These have a place in our lives as an
expression," says Nirmala Dandekar, a professor of
sociology, "but they have not been truly effective. At
best, they serve a limited purpose. For each one, there is often
a counter crusade and that dilutes the effect of the content.
After all, this cannot be a man vs. woman situation, where barbs
are used as weapons. We have to get results and these can be
achieved only by women truly working together and finding
solutions in their own large numbers."
"I am
surprised at the mockery of the movement," says Akhila
Bhagwat, a prominent activist of the women’s movement in
India, "The Pink Chaddi Campaign, for instance, was mocked
by the Pink Condom Campaign. The Internet is full of anti-women
stuff and women have to be careful in every situation in life.
It is sad how this movement has been trivialised by all
concerned. On the one hand, women are achieving new heights in
education and careers, and on the other hand, they are victims
of old mindsets that dog their footsteps everywhere."
"The story
begins in colleges and even in schools," says Dr Duru Shah,
chairperson of the Gynaecological Society of India, which has
done many research projects on women’s sexuality, "Urban
young women are more free than ever before and the closeness of
young women and men is common. Our surveys have found that a
large number of college girls in many cities have several sexual
experiences. When this happens, there is criticism in Indian
society because this is not our culture and also such random
sexual encounters affect the life of a young girl, who suffers
from disillusionment. Women must understand that they should be
the first to respect their bodies and spirit. This could reduce
the level of sexual exploitation of young women." Further,
Hafiza Burfiwala, a lawyer, adds, "In our society, women
live extreme lives – they are either completely free or behind
veils. A golden mean must be found to make them secure. Our laws
must be more effective and such offences must be punishable
right away without long procedures."
Perhaps the best
comment on women’s safety and security has been made by
Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan, who said about his wife,
"Having brought a woman away from her parental family, it
is the duty of the husband to make her feel secure, happy and
empowered. Every man must treat women with respect and be
respected and trusted by the women around him. This is the true
foundation of a society which treats men and women as
equals." — VP
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