Shocking Views of UP Women's Commission Member
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2021-06-11 01:47:25
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
Once again, victim-blaming has reared its ugly head. This time, Meena Kumari, a member of the UP Women's Commission said that girls should not be given mobile phones as they talked with boys and then eloped with them, leading to rape. She also said that it was the job of mothers to keep an eye on their daughters to see whom they talked with or whether they used the mobile phones to study or to keep in touch with boys. This once again brings to fore the deep-seated misogyny in Indian society where even women, and even female members of commissions set up to protect the interests of women, chose to put the blame on girls rather than see them for the victim they are.
Hence, if we go by Meena Kumari's statement or those of many others - both women and men - before her, we would be led to believe that women 'invite' all sorts of troubles upon them for not conforming to rules that the patriarchal society has set for them. Hence, girls get raped as they wear revealing clothes, stay out late at night, move about without a male escort, drink and smoke, hang out with boys and use mobile phones to talk with boys, among other things. The entire blame for their 'misfortunes'' is put on them.
But how do these 'experts' and 'luminaries' explain the rape of a 65-year-old nun? Did she wear revealing clothes or otherwise 'entice' boys to go after her? What about the rape of a two-year-old child? Did she 'drink and smoke' or 'stay out late at night'? Victim-blaming is the worst trick to subjugate women. These so-called 'guardians' of morality should get real. Rape happens because a man has sex with a woman without her consent or even with her consent if she is below the age of 18 years. The focus should be on the perpetrators and not on the victim.
