Rising Rapes And Misogyny: India’s Other Pandemic

Bringing to you the hypocrisy ignited from the misogyny. Today, you will see yourself as a society, the inevitable inequality and hierarchy established by your mindset’s monarchy.

It is the year 2020. The world is changing, and so are the times. But the one thing that has been riveting its way backwards is a progressive mindset towards women. Instead of developing a more colourful perspective (yes, that was intended), India is at the verge of becoming a black and white hourglass whose sand is at the brink of running out.

In the year 2018, a rape case was reported every 15 minutes in the country. Even still, India is one of the 36 countries in the world where marital rape is not criminalised. Exceptions to Section 275 of the Indian Penal Code exempts unwilling intercourse with a wife of over fifteen years in age.

I would also like to bring to your notice the fact that Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, who ranks seventh in order of precedence in a nation of 1.38 billion said: “Women (are) not capable of being left free or independent” for a news article. This raises questions regarding the freedom of females in the general public, especially after the widely known Hathras rape case in October 2020.

A huge population in India does not understand the ideology of ‘consent’ and isn’t willing to understand it. Many parts of the world’s largest democracy believe that once an individual hits puberty, their body is meant for it (sexual intercourse), which essentially rules out the importance of consent.

It also is often explained or excused as a manifestation of racial, ethnic or class hatred, or as stemming from a patriarchal system that views women as the ‘property’ of men. This mindset is not just affiliated with the rapist, but also the community interacting with the public.

Many might argue even after considering all facts that rape or ‘balatkaar’ happens due to women wearing inadequate clothing that ‘exposes their body’, thus ‘inviting’ men by wearing a ‘revealing’ apparel.

In a recent case, Markandey Katju, former Supreme Court judge of India, who also served as the Chairman of the Press Council of India, justified rape as a result of a natural urge in men and blamed it on the rise in the population without two thoughts.

But in reality, such unanalysed bluffs not only promote rape culture (noun; a society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalising or trivialising sexual assault and abuse.), but also suppress the trauma of the victim. What needs to be understood is that such situations are not repercussions of wearing short clothing, but rather of the lack of sex education and the increasing unacceptance towards modern attitudes such as feminism.

With one female being killed in the country faster than you can shout the word ‘misogyny’, it can clearly be observed that an alteration is required in the community. Raise your voices and challenge the ethicality of such social practices that act like rusted rods in the foundation of the commonwealth. Make a change before all the sand in the hourglass runs out. Time is ticking.

Note: The author of this essay understands that rapes and misogyny are not only concerned with women but with men and other genders as well. However, they wanted to highlight the rise in such malignant practices particularly with the context to women.