International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women - Victim Women Feel More Victimized In Their Fight For Justice
By Badrud Duja
November
25, 2020
On the
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Let’s ask some
questions, and introspect. In an RTI
application to the Police Department, I sought details regarding offenses of
cruelty by husband and molestation cases from 2019.
As far as
Molestation cases were concerned – which included 354-A, 354-B, 354-C – 1057
cases were registered in 2019, and 880 cases were registered up to Aug 31,
August 2020. Clearly, there is a rise in cases of molestation, harassment, and
assaults on women. Among cruelty of husband cases, 173 cases were registered
from the year 2019, and 94 up to August 31, 2020.
Representational Photo
----
Forget
marriage, there are countless girls suffering from mental health disorders due
to personal life issues related to dating. She is a victim of verbal and
physical abuse, she is threatened and blackmailed. She faces cyber harassment,
and cyberbullying. She is stalked online, and physically, wherever she goes.
Her fake accounts are created and her pictures are uploaded on it. Why all such
things? Because the patriarchal mindset is deeply rooted here and for women
vulnerability and victimhood is closely related to womanhood.
All these
wrongdoings are done under the guise of dating or relationship. Thus leading to
an increase in ‘dating violence’ against women which never gets reported to law
enforcement agencies. This is the quandary of modern educated women caught in
emotional mayhem where she is helpless because as a society we have failed to
provide her strength and support to fight for her dignity. As one goes deep to
understand such a regressive state of affairs, there are some questions that
need to be asked. Why share passwords? Why amenable to dictations of feudal
minded partners? A state of helplessness is the answer. We have nowhere to go,
If we approach the police they are insensitive towards the victim, usually a
younger girl or a university student. Instead, the victim will be labelled as
an ill-charactered girl.
She is
asked to choose silence and not raise her voice. Often I hear helpless stories
of married women facing abuse in domestic settings at the hands of their
spouses, in-laws and are advised to remain silent; because for such women,
saving a marriage is more important than the right to live with dignity. Countless stories are narrated about wives
who aren’t asking questions to spouses about their extramarital affairs because
the child’s future will be at stake if the mother reports about the father’s
extramarital affair.
Workplace: Professionally she faces challenges at the
workplace where her right to live with dignity is certainly taking a toll. The
spirit of Sexual Harassment Committees is to protect women from sexual
harassment at the workplace and to provide a safe and secure working
environment for all women. However, even after its enactment, in the majority
of public and private workplaces, it is yet to be constituted.
In an RTI
to the General Administrative Department JK, I sought information about sexual
harassment committees in public offices along with its composition. In response
to my RTI application, GAD provided details of 18 government departments where
Sexual Harassment committees have been constituted.
As per the
RTI reply, Sexual Harassment Committees have been constituted in only 18
government offices, which speaks volumes about the seriousness and compliance
of Government offices towards making the workplace a better place for women.
Violence
through smartphones: As per the 2019 Truecaller Insight report, 8 out of 10
women in India receive harassment & nuisance calls where 4% perpetrators
were known and 76% unknown angering women and making them afraid. It further
revealed in India, 67% of women felt irritation, 60% anger, 29% worried, 29%
troubled, and 21% fear.
As far as
reporting to authorities is concerned in India, it states 85% blocked the
number, 45% called their operator for help,45% tried searching for the number,
44% ignored the calls/SMS, 12% reported to the authority.
Truecaller
report says only 12% in India have reported to authorities. Similarly, NCRB
report says 3129 cases in 2017 have been registered from JK. The larger
challenge are cases that aren’t reported due to family and societal pressure.
That’s where she deserves safety and support from us. We have to support her to
do the right thing, but do we?
One of the
emerging challenges arising out of this is using technology in crimes related
to women. Social media is the easiest tool to further weaken women where
police, as well as couples, must realize that harassment, physical, mental
abuse is the same and cannot be nullified in marriage or dating. In present
times women in dating suffer more abuse than those in marriage. Not to forget
an abusive relationship or failed emotional relationship or problematic
marriage relationship leads to mental health issues among couples, mostly
women. Yet she suffers and continues to suffer because society is yet to accept
the fact that dating is the new norm and dating violence is its crimes.
On a
personal level, she isn’t safe be it with her partner, with her friends, with
society. Thus leading to institutional violence against women where her family
members, relatives, acquaintances, law enforcing agencies by not supporting her
to take legal action facilitates crimes and violence against her.
Often we
hear instances where girls approach their parents regarding college students or
classmates harassing them or forcing them to talk , in response girls are
asked, “Why only you?” “Chei Chai
Galati”.
In such a
repressive atmosphere, how do we expect victims to approach the police station
against the perpetrator on charges of stalking, harassment, violation of
privacy, transmitting obscene electronic material, etc.
Girls of
major age are asked to bring their parents along or change their mobile number
or delete social media accounts or advise her to settle the matter amicably
with the perpetrator. Sadly she is not supported by family members to approach
law enforcement agencies neither police support her in filing FIR against the
perpetrator due to the social stigma attached to it.
Police
provide unreasonable excuses for not filing FIR. Like “You were having affair
with him, how can we book him under charges of stalking or harassment?” She is
abused, shamed, cursed and this obstruction of police towards the victim from
taking legal action further strengthens the offender towards crimes against
her. When the victim is stopped from taking legal action, the offender or
perpetrator gets encouraged. If a girl reports to police about an abusive
relationship, she is looked at with contempt.
If you pay
a visit to the Women Police Station, cases are related to kidnapping, dowry
demand, cruelty by the husband which are all under the ambit of marriage. But
what about crimes and violence which are outside the ambit of marriage such as
physical abuse, cyber harassment, dating violence, leaking pictures, stalking,
fake ids, etc.?
Why aren’t
such matters reported to police because the expectation of justice among
victims in dating violence towards police is absent. Also the victim feels more victimized in her
fight for justice. Adding more worries to her insecurities is unawareness of
local police towards issues of young people. The local police system is deeply
rooted in the traditional male bias environment where victim women are told to
sign Tafsia Nama and forget filing FIR
against him.
-----
Badrud Duja is student of law at University of
Kashmir
Original Headline: Safeguarding Women
Source: The Greater Kashmir
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/international-day-elimination-violence-women/d/123578
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism