Trigger Warning: Mentions of sexual assault, gender-based violence, and female foeticide
Until 2011, Haryana had the worst sex ratio due to the appalling practice of female foeticide. It appears that by 2024, they might have somewhat curbed the killing of female infants in the womb, only to witness a rise in gender-based violence cases a slow poison gradually snuffing out the lives of girls across the globe.
The term “sexual assault” carries a weighty and heinous meaning, yet in India, the repercussions seem so casual that the law and government appear indifferent. Women and girls have become easy targets for gender-based violence, and it has sadly become so commonplace that mentioning molestation, harassment, stalking, or any such crime elicits countless stories from women and girls. These issues have been normalized to an alarming extent, with the media inadvertently glorifying them, making them an ingrained part of our society.
Every newspaper, social media feed, and news channel is flooded with headlines about mishaps involving women. The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) annual report has unveiled a distressing 4% surge in crimes against women in India throughout 2022. If we include 2023 and the first two weeks of January 2024, the percentage is likely to rise even more. Have you heard the latest? Around 500 students accuse a professor of sexual assault at the Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Haryana.
These students, unheard like the Haryana women wrestlers, wrote to various authorities, demanding the suspension of the accused professor and an inquiry led by a retired High Court judge. The professor allegedly calls girls to his office, takes them to the bathroom, and touches them inappropriately. When protested, the girls faced threats of severe consequences.
What compounds the distress is that this is not the first time these allegations have surfaced. Despite four letters from the students, the professor remains unaccountable, with internal investigations clearing him. The latest revelation about deleted CCTV footage only adds to the suspicions surrounding the internal probe.
The anonymity of the students in their letters speaks volumes about the prevailing societal norms in India, where family pride and honor are intertwined with individual identities. It is disheartening to witness educational institutions, considered a second home for students, no longer guaranteeing a safe environment.
This incident is not an isolated one. Earlier, a case emerged where 142 school girls in Haryana alleged sexual assault by a principal over six years. The depth of unreported cases is unimaginable, hidden beneath layers of fear, societal reputation, and victim-blaming.
Even after being victims, women are often treated as culprits. Some senseless individuals may question why girls need to go to college or school, perpetuating the notion that women belong in the kitchen. However, violence against women occurs irrespective of their education, clothing, or employment status. Whether a girl, stays at home, attends college, school, or works, or whether she wears jeans, tops, skirts, sarees, suits, or burqas, she can still be a victim of crime.
How long must women and girls endure this suffering? Why must they constantly prove their innocence and victimhood? Why can’t our government, judiciary, and legislature take decisive action? We need stronger consequences rather than feeble excuses. Why do we have to wait until a case gains national attention, like Nirbhaya, Unnao, or Hyderabad, to take small steps and then forget until the next crime occurs?
It’s high time we stop normalizing these sensitive issues and, as a society, start contemplating significant measures to put an end to them. Before that, we need to change our mindset and break free from the chains of stereotypes that associate women’s actions and independence with the causes of these crimes. After all, a culprit never judges their target, but as a society, we often do.