The incident in Subalpur village in West Bengal’s
Birbhum district, in which a 20-year-old tribal
woman was gang-raped by a
dozen men as punishment for alleged immoral conduct, is shocking in its
unimaginable brutality and points to a larger malaise. The order by a
kangaroo court led by a village headman is proof that a section of rural
India is outside the pale of the country’s constitutional values and
judicial system. Ill-informed men with medieval social attitudes and
patriarchal prejudices are allowed to adjudicate on the conduct and
morality of women and pass unconscionable forms of punishment, such as
social ostracism, payment of arbitrary fines and, as in this case,
sexual violence in lieu of monetary penalty. The Supreme Court and the
National Commission for Women have taken
suo motu
cognisance of the incident, which has caused widespread outrage and revulsion. The West Bengal gov
ernment, which has been sharply criticised in recent times for
callousness and insensitivity towards crimes against women, has seen to
it that the village headman and the 12 men who raped the hapless woman
for a whole night have been arrested. And Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee, upset that the police did not seek custody of the accused for
questioning and allowed them to be sent to prison directly, has ordered
the suspension of the Superintendent of Police. It is disturbing that
the entire village, including women, backed the kangaroo court by whose
verdict the man could get away with a fine, but the woman was punished
for not having the means to do so.
Outposts of
feudalism still thrive in vast swathes of rural India, ranging from
khap panchayats in the north to caste-based gatherings of village elders
in the south. In 2011, the Supreme Court wanted illegal khap panchayats
that encourage ‘honour killings’ or other institutionalised atrocities
to be stamped out ruthlessly. Over a year has elapsed since the country
voiced its anger against sexual violence targeted at women and seemed to
take a collective vow to ensure the protection of all women. The penal
law on sexual violence and harassment has been strengthened
significantly since then. Yet, India’s cities and villages continue to
be unsafe for women. The locus of sexual violence is everywhere: in
public spaces and private homes, under the cloak of darkness and in the
open, and perpetrated by well-acquainted persons as also as by
strangers. The Birbhum incident is a chilling reminder that legal
processes, security measures and stringent laws are not enough. Social
attitudes need to change, reflecting liberal and humane values, if the
country is to ensure gender equality and protection for all its women.
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