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In Mukesh’s Words Is The Shocking Brutality Of Our Own Society

By najeebabdul in Society
9th March, 2015

By Najeeb Abdulrahiman:

India’s Daughter is a terribly disturbing film. Yet, it is a story that must be told. After the protests that embraced the nation following the rape and the murder of Jyoti Singh, one would think that the film made by a rape survivor herself, that chronicles the events of that fateful night, meshed with narratives of people from various facets of her life, would be accepted with enthusiasm.

mukesh-singh-

The usual opposition from the guardians of ‘image’ is ludicrous and predictable, but the vehement protests from the feminists and women’s organizations, were surprisingly alien. The scornful criticism to downgrade this documentary to a sensational movie, thus making it irrelevant, began even before the film was released.

Kavita Krishnan, Secretary of All India Progressive Women’s Association, asked in an article “Along with Mukesh Singh, she did not, for instance, seek to interview the heads of the IMF or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or the media barons and so on who are accused of sexual violence.” Does a documentary become relevant only if it addresses an issue at the broadest possible scale and finds its victims and perpetrators all over the world, even though it was clearly named ‘India’s daughter’?

This wasn’t supposed to be an in-depth look at the myriad factors that constitute gender violence in India, nor was it an attempt to chronicle the history of such prior incidents. This is the story of a girl who was subjected to inhuman violence, the immediate context in which it happened, the mindset of the perpetrators, and the broken system in which such things are bound to happen. Why is it important that a documentary on Jyoti Singh should also cite prior incidents of rape and brutal violence? Are people more upset about what it didn’t show than about what it did?

Kavita Krishnan further elaborates by saying, “The concern is that the airing of the documentary will result in a media trial — that will essentially leave the judiciary with no option but to uphold the death penalty.” While chiding the media trial, she herself participates in it wilfully – what is the difference between an article and a film, both discussing a trial under appeal?

The rape suspect decided to incriminate himself in the interview; if the Supreme Court cannot look at the evidence objectively and arrive at a constitutionally and legally sound decision, then the system is broken to begin with. While I am genuinely concerned with vigilante justice, such as the nauseating incident from Nagaland where a violent mob lynched a rape suspect, that is not the reason to not air the story of a rape victim. Furthermore, are we seriously suggesting that no media discussion can take place on anything from communal riots to corruption scandals until the trial is complete?

The incorrigible comments from the defence lawyers make you wince, but regardless of the spirit in which the defence lawyers in the film talked about the sitting members of the parliament who have criminal cases against them, it brings forward the hard truth about an uneven and broken judicial system, where justice is denied unless you belong to the upper rungs of the society, whether it is class, caste or political clout. Of course, his twisted logic suggests that therefore, justice shouldn’t be served in cases of rape either. Each character reveals a lot more than the actual words uttered. The defence lawyers are such caricatures that the film not only exposes the shocking mindset of the people who are sworn to interpret and defend the constitutional rights, but also exemplifies the shabby legal counsel extended to the defendants from poor backgrounds.

At multiple levels, the film also chronicles the story of other victims – The wife of one of the rapists who is back in her village, now knowing that her husband might soon be hung, worries about what is to become of her life and contemplates strangling her own child; the mother who thought that her son had died until the police came looking for him. Several commentators took up issues with the imagery of slums, as if it insinuates that these thugs were produced only in those environments. For this particular story of Jyoti Singh, the inner city slums, where the juvenile rapist and other men had moved up the crooked ladder of crime until it culminated in unspeakable brutality, is indeed a relevant backdrop.

As for the sensationalism and shock value, people should be shocked, they should know how their apathy has created an environment where a young girl can be brutally raped and murdered, they should have a hard look at their own medieval outlook on women and perhaps see for themselves how frighteningly identical their views are to the views of the perpetrators. If the film has played a small role in creating a glint of introspection, which might culminate in a more just outlook or even a better dialogue on gender violence, it has done something to move the needle forward.

You must be to comment.

  1. Green Lantern

    Man jailed for 31 years for rape he did not commit

    http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2014/12/dallas-man-who-served-31-years-in-prison-for-a-rape-he-didnt-commit-finally-declared-innocent.html/

    http://youtu.be/CvBt7Ry16uM

  2. Green Lantern

    On Women’s Day, Man Leaves Suicide Note – MUST READ!

    http://ibnlive.in.com/news/on-womens-day-read-the-suicide-note-of-a-man/532541-3-236.html

  3. swati srivastava

    @green lantern Who put these six innocent men in the jail. Please somebody ask indian govt to release them. Instead putting men in jail please put all the women in jail.Women are the biggest perpetrator of all crime whether its domestic violence or rape. Everything is done by women.Women are the biggest bitches, they are not letting these innocent men live in peace. In every 2 out of 3 men is rape in India by women.Women are the most disgusting creature made by god. Please somebody kill me. I am harassing a sweet innocent men called green lantern. Why only me please kill all women. Because no women no problem.

  4. swati srivastava

    Who put these six innocent men in the jail. Please somebody ask indian govt to release them. Instead putting men in jail please put all the women in jail.Women are the biggest perpetrator of all crime whether its domestic violence or rape. Everything is done by women.Women are the biggest bitches, they are not letting these innocent men live in peace. In every 2 out of 3 men is rape in India by women.Women are the most disgusting creature made by god. Please somebody kill me. I am harassing a sweet innocent men called green lantern. Why only me please kill all women. Because no women no problem.

  5. Green Lantern

    In India, 75% of rape cases are false.

    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Tougher-rape-law-leading-to-increase-in-false-cases/articleshow/30807940.cms

    False cases behind Delhi’s tag of rape capital:

    http://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/false-cases-behind-delhis-tag-of-rape-capital-court-529663

  6. Dark Knight

    Man spent 35 years in jail in false rape case

    http://www.businessinsider.in/Innocent-Man-Freed-After-35-Years-Has-An-Incredible-Outlook-On-Life/articleshow/25684955.cms

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An ambassador and trained facilitator under Eco Femme (a social enterprise working towards menstrual health in south India), Sanjina is also an active member of the MHM Collective- India and Menstrual Health Alliance- India. She has conducted Menstrual Health sessions in multiple government schools adopted by Rotary District 3240 as part of their WinS project in rural Bengal. She has also delivered training of trainers on SRHR, gender, sexuality and Menstruation for Tomorrow’s Foundation, Vikramshila Education Resource Society, Nirdhan trust and Micro Finance, Tollygunj Women In Need, Paint It Red in Kolkata.

Now as an MH Fellow with YKA, she’s expanding her impressive scope of work further by launching a campaign to facilitate the process of ensuring better menstrual health and SRH services for women residing in correctional homes in West Bengal. The campaign will entail an independent study to take stalk of the present conditions of MHM in correctional homes across the state and use its findings to build public support and political will to take the necessary action.

Saurabh has been associated with YKA as a user and has consistently been writing on the issue MHM and its intersectionality with other issues in the society. Now as an MHM Fellow with YKA, he’s launched the Right to Period campaign, which aims to ensure proper execution of MHM guidelines in Delhi’s schools.

The long-term aim of the campaign is to develop an open culture where menstruation is not treated as a taboo. The campaign also seeks to hold the schools accountable for their responsibilities as an important component in the implementation of MHM policies by making adequate sanitation infrastructure and knowledge of MHM available in school premises.

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Harshita is a psychologist and works to support people with mental health issues, particularly adolescents who are survivors of violence. Associated with the Azadi Foundation in UP, Harshita became an MHM Fellow with YKA, with the aim of promoting better menstrual health.

Her campaign #MeriMarzi aims to promote menstrual health and wellness, hygiene and facilities for female sex workers in UP. She says, “Knowledge about natural body processes is a very basic human right. And for individuals whose occupation is providing sexual services, it becomes even more important.”

Meri Marzi aims to ensure sensitised, non-discriminatory health workers for the needs of female sex workers in the Suraksha Clinics under the UPSACS (Uttar Pradesh State AIDS Control Society) program by creating more dialogues and garnering public support for the cause of sex workers’ menstrual rights. The campaign will also ensure interventions with sex workers to clear misconceptions around overall hygiene management to ensure that results flow both ways.

Read more about her campaign.

MH Fellow Sabna comes with significant experience working with a range of development issues. A co-founder of Project Sakhi Saheli, which aims to combat period poverty and break menstrual taboos, Sabna has, in the past, worked on the issue of menstruation in urban slums of Delhi with women and adolescent girls. She and her team also released MenstraBook, with menstrastories and organised Menstra Tlk in the Delhi School of Social Work to create more conversations on menstruation.

With YKA MHM Fellow Vineet, Sabna launched Menstratalk, a campaign that aims to put an end to period poverty and smash menstrual taboos in society. As a start, the campaign aims to begin conversations on menstrual health with five hundred adolescents and youth in Delhi through offline platforms, and through this community mobilise support to create Period Friendly Institutions out of educational institutes in the city.

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A student from Delhi School of Social work, Vineet is a part of Project Sakhi Saheli, an initiative by the students of Delhi school of Social Work to create awareness on Menstrual Health and combat Period Poverty. Along with MHM Action Fellow Sabna, Vineet launched Menstratalk, a campaign that aims to put an end to period poverty and smash menstrual taboos in society.

As a start, the campaign aims to begin conversations on menstrual health with five hundred adolescents and youth in Delhi through offline platforms, and through this community mobilise support to create Period Friendly Institutions out of educational institutes in the city.

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A native of Bhagalpur district – Bihar, Shalini Jha believes in equal rights for all genders and wants to work for a gender-equal and just society. In the past she’s had a year-long association as a community leader with Haiyya: Organise for Action’s Health Over Stigma campaign. She’s pursuing a Master’s in Literature with Ambedkar University, Delhi and as an MHM Fellow with YKA, recently launched ‘Project अल्हड़ (Alharh)’.

She says, “Bihar is ranked the lowest in India’s SDG Index 2019 for India. Hygienic and comfortable menstruation is a basic human right and sustainable development cannot be ensured if menstruators are deprived of their basic rights.” Project अल्हड़ (Alharh) aims to create a robust sensitised community in Bhagalpur to collectively spread awareness, break the taboo, debunk myths and initiate fearless conversations around menstruation. The campaign aims to reach at least 6000 adolescent girls from government and private schools in Baghalpur district in 2020.

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A psychologist and co-founder of a mental health NGO called Customize Cognition, Ritika forayed into the space of menstrual health and hygiene, sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights and gender equality as an MHM Fellow with YKA. She says, “The experience of working on MHM/SRHR and gender equality has been an enriching and eye-opening experience. I have learned what’s beneath the surface of the issue, be it awareness, lack of resources or disregard for trans men, who also menstruate.”

The Transmen-ses campaign aims to tackle the issue of silence and disregard for trans men’s menstruation needs, by mobilising gender sensitive health professionals and gender neutral restrooms in Lucknow.

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A Computer Science engineer by education, Nitisha started her career in the corporate sector, before realising she wanted to work in the development and social justice space. Since then, she has worked with Teach For India and Care India and is from the founding batch of Indian School of Development Management (ISDM), a one of its kind organisation creating leaders for the development sector through its experiential learning post graduate program.

As a Youth Ki Awaaz Menstrual Health Fellow, Nitisha has started Let’s Talk Period, a campaign to mobilise young people to switch to sustainable period products. She says, “80 lakh women in Delhi use non-biodegradable sanitary products, generate 3000 tonnes of menstrual waste, that takes 500-800 years to decompose; which in turn contributes to the health issues of all menstruators, increased burden of waste management on the city and harmful living environment for all citizens.

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A former Assistant Secretary with the Ministry of Women and Child Development in West Bengal for three months, Lakshmi Bhavya has been championing the cause of menstrual hygiene in her district. By associating herself with the Lalana Campaign, a holistic menstrual hygiene awareness campaign which is conducted by the Anahat NGO, Lakshmi has been slowly breaking taboos when it comes to periods and menstrual hygiene.

A Gender Rights Activist working with the tribal and marginalized communities in india, Srilekha is a PhD scholar working on understanding body and sexuality among tribal girls, to fill the gaps in research around indigenous women and their stories. Srilekha has worked extensively at the grassroots level with community based organisations, through several advocacy initiatives around Gender, Mental Health, Menstrual Hygiene and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) for the indigenous in Jharkhand, over the last 6 years.

Srilekha has also contributed to sustainable livelihood projects and legal aid programs for survivors of sex trafficking. She has been conducting research based programs on maternal health, mental health, gender based violence, sex and sexuality. Her interest lies in conducting workshops for young people on life skills, feminism, gender and sexuality, trauma, resilience and interpersonal relationships.

A Guwahati-based college student pursuing her Masters in Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bidisha started the #BleedwithDignity campaign on the technology platform Change.org, demanding that the Government of Assam install
biodegradable sanitary pad vending machines in all government schools across the state. Her petition on Change.org has already gathered support from over 90000 people and continues to grow.

Bidisha was selected in Change.org’s flagship program ‘She Creates Change’ having run successful online advocacy
campaigns, which were widely recognised. Through the #BleedwithDignity campaign; she organised and celebrated World Menstrual Hygiene Day, 2019 in Guwahati, Assam by hosting a wall mural by collaborating with local organisations. The initiative was widely covered by national and local media, and the mural was later inaugurated by the event’s chief guest Commissioner of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Debeswar Malakar, IAS.

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