The ‘Master Slave’ society which is sublimely called as Patriarchy has historically manifested itself in the social, economic, legal and political organisations of many culture. Both the present and the past is a reminder that most cultures throughout the world have been patriarchal and this inevitable realism has quite often lead patriarchy to portray men as the perpetrator and women as the victim beside flaunting and stereotyping men as a symbol of transcendent strength and protector and women as an undisputed emblem of weakness and fragility.
Patriarchy has blatantly assumed that men can’t be tormented and violence against men is a joke to crack upon. On 12th April, 2017, when The Times of India reported an incident where a newly married wife allegedly killed her hubby for not being handsome; an insane majority reacted with a Haha emoticon. Even if one willingly accepts that the news reported was just on the basis of prima facie evidence; the reactions only proved that violence against men is nothing except something to be ridiculed at.
The patriarchal mind set is always eager more than ever to declare men as the offender, the wrong doer and the accused even before and without offering them the courtesy of an explanation. The allegations made by women are always heard and believed as the eventual doctrine because it brings humongous TRP and revenue like in the late November 2014; media mob reported how two sisters beat three young boys in Rohtak for ‘allegedly’ harassing them. The incident was reported even without cross checking the facts at the first place just because the accusations were labelled against men by women. Kuldeep, the main accused was denied the admit card and wasn’t allowed to join the army for a crime he wasn’t yet held guilty. The three young boys’ must have undergone unexplainable trauma besides carrying the guilt of bad name for three years before they were acquitted and judged innocent by the court on 4th March, 2017. The same media when the same men were set acquitted didn’t bother to report the incident aggressively because violence and false accusation against men is commonly so uncommon to fathom.
To counter the venom patriarchy spreads against women and to maintain an equilibrium; patriarchy has given birth to extremely sexist laws like the Section 498 A; which was hailed as a legal terrorism even by the Supreme Court of India in Sushil Kumar Sharma vs. Union of India case. The false acquisition in a very famous dowry case where charges were labelled against ‘Munish Dalal’ and his family in Noida in 2003 is a reminder of the nightmare sexist law creates for men. After 9 years of perpetual torture ‘Munish’ and his family including her 60 years old aunt and mother were set free. This particular case just can’t be discarded as a counting of one in a set of infinite elements because the facts also don’t prove otherwise. With a mind boggling, 23 lakh people arrested under this section of law only less than petty crimes like theft; the conviction rate has amazingly been a bare minimum 15 %.
The plethora of the ever sexist sections of the law has sometimes made men a puppet. A detailed report published by The Hindu on June 29, 2014 titled as the Many Shades of Rape Cases in Delhi showed that over 40 % of the rape cases in 2013 in the national capital dealt with the incident of consensual sex, usually involving the elopement of the young couple and later the girl’s family accused the boy of rape and the other 25% cases dealt with the breach of the promise of marriage. These facts shouldn’t be read as an unsaid judgement to kindle controversy that most rape cases are false or as a disgrace to women rights but should be accepted as a grey façade of the society apart from all the black and white shades. Violence is violence after all and injustice is injustice always; no matter against whom it is executed. If committing a rape is a heinous and an odious crime then falsely accusing someone and ruining years’ of their life for the crime they haven’t ever committed is also equally heinous if not more.
Ages ago; when patriarchy stereotyped men and women, the women were always the sub-ordinate. Though man borne and bear many privileges even till today; the narrative that men are also at the receiving end of ordeal is an unassailable reality. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data exemplifies it well. It states that the suicide rate of married men is twice than that of married women and that too mainly because of mental stress and disturbance. Patriarchy has sublimely portrayed men as an epitome of masculinity without emotions. In fact, it shows no concern for genuine men like it never does for women and has promoted misogyny and misandry in equal terms. As a chunk of crime and acts of violence against women are supported and conceived by women themselves; patriarchy disapproves itself. It has in fact no gender.