16
Days Of Activism To End
Violence Against Women
By Amrita Nandy-Joshi
16 December, 2006
Countercurrents.org
The
period between 25th November and 10th December this year – like
every other year – is internationally designated as ‘16
Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women’. Part of a global
campaign initiated in 1991, the two dates that mark the beginning and
end of this period carry special significance—25 November is the
International Day Against Violence Against Women and 10 December is
the International Human Rights Day. The idea was to symbolically link
violence against women with human rights and, thereby, emphasize that
such violence against women is a violation of human rights itself. Besides,
this 16-day time phase also highlights other relevant occasions such
as International Women Human Rights Defenders Day (29th November), the
International World AIDS Day (1st December) and the anniversary of the
Montreal Massacre (6th December). Public protests and rallies, symposiums
and meetings mark these days across the globe and activists, academicians
etc. shuttle from event to another. However, it is imperative that the
essence behind all these red-letter days reaches the public too—that
crimes committed against women are pervasive in our societies and must
be confronted and condemned without any shame or secrecy.
It is well-known that crimes
committed against women come disguised through religion, culture, rituals,
community practices or just as naked tyranny and oppression. From pre-natal
sex selection to female foeticide, clitoridectomy to marital rape, honour
killings, trafficking of girls and women, dowry-related violence, domestic
violence and so on are the various forms that violence against women
is known to take. Worldwide, domestic violence makes for one of the
most commonly practiced crimes against women. Studies conducted in various
countries have recorded that between 10 and 60 per cent of women suffer
physical violence at the hands of their male partners and 20 to 75 per
cent undergo emotional abuse. Over the last few decades, the efforts
by women’s groups and various human rights’ bodies to draw
attention to such abhorrent action has shown results. Statistics reveal
that while 89 governments have laws in place to specifically tackle
domestic violence, close to 90 governments have some form of legislative
provision against sexual harassment.
India too has recently passed its new-and-improved Domestic Violence
Bill which is comprehensive and seems more biting. However, it is sad
and shocking to note that what is popularly referred to as eve-teasing
continues to be one of the most under-reported crimes against women.
This is bewildering because as against the privacy and secrecy of domestic
violence, ‘eve-teasing’ happens rampantly on the streets
in the public arena. What’s worse is that popular culture and
its discourse normalizes and, thus, almost sanctions such crimes. The
semantics of eve-teasing, for example, itself portray a woman on the
streets as an ‘eve’ or the temptress. This rests the primary
blame for eve-teasing on women, for it is the temptresses who seduce
or provoke. Women are generally thought to have ‘asked for it’
through their dress, mannerism, speech, gestures, the time of the day
or night they are out, or just about anything related to them! The term,
therefore, also lends an air of frivolity to the crime. So deeply is
the lightness of this act entrenched in our collective psyches that,
over a period of time, women too have learnt to live with it. They begin
to view it not as sexual harassment per se, but a lesser, harmless form
of teasing which can and should be ignored. However, eve-teasing is
sheer sexual harassment. Even though laws against eve-teasing exist,
they – at best – become paper tigers, thanks to the soft
attitude of law-enforcement agencies, perpetrators of crime and even
the harassed. Any change in such a situation will only be possible when
large-scale efforts are made by the government, law and order officials
as well as the public towards a wider sensitization about issues surrounding
crimes against women, human rights and so on. Hopefully, if the Women’s
Reservation Bill sees the light of the day, such issues too will get
their own share of focus. While legal reform can certainly help by having
in place a stringent and comprehensive bill specifically on sexual harassment,
the law makers will need to be prudent about any moralistic or paternalistic
overtones in it. Though the sooner girls and women break the fetters
of silence on such issues (including sexual harassment at educational
institutions and work), the earlier will we be able to deal with a crime
that most of them face every day of their lives. Teaching our daughters
to be exemplars of tolerance, or that suffering is a virtue they must
imbibe only makes the whole exercise go awry.
However, women have long
endured, challenged and fought such insidious social evils. The question
at this point – after many tears of sloganeering by women themselves
and efforts by state agencies – is this: when will men stop being
bystanders, step into the ring and take action? After all, sexual harassment
is as much – if not more – a men’s issue. It is high
time that men open a dialogue with both men and women to address issues
such as masculinity. The traditional definition of masculinity, which
is soaked in notions of patriarchy, needs to be debunked. Masculinity
should promote an emotionally healthy and sensitive being. Men could
also, at various fora, challenge the practice of eve-teasing through
socio-cultural critiques, while garner greater publicity for the issue
through innovative public campaigns.
For years, young girls and
women have lived in abuse. Think about it—could it be that your
sister, daughter or mother are silently seething in the agony. Chances
are that they won’t tell you, and you will never ask! It is time
to malestream such issues among conscientious men.
The message has stayed the
same, so has the messenger and so has the situation. Let men take up
the cudgels against this unchecked social ill.
overall publicity and an ending to silence over spousal abuse to pushing
for legislative reform and providing safe havens for girls escaping
coerced marriages.
rights organizations worldwide
to bring greater attention to this pervasive and deeply entrenched human
rights violation, proposing a range of steps from greater overall publicity
and an ending to silence over spousal abuse to pushing for legislative
reform and providing safe havens for girls escaping coerced marriages.
The 16 Days Campaign has
been used as an organizing strategy by individuals and groups around
the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against
women by:
· raising awareness
about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national,
regional and international levels
· strengthening local
work around violence against women
· establishing a clear
link between local and international work to end violence against women
· providing a forum
in which organizers can develop and share new and effective strategies
· demonstrating the solidarity of women around the world organizing
against violence against women
· creating tools to
pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence
against women
Perturbed by the increasing
number of cases of sexual harassment cases within schools, a working
group report by the ministry of women and child development on ‘empowerment
of women’ has recommended implementation of the Vishaka guidelines
in schools for girls and teachers. So far the govt. has been concentrating
on sexual harassment at workplace. If the recommendation is accepted,
it will be the first time that students in educational institutions
will be covered under the legislation. These guidelines, mandated by
the SC, are a broad framework which put a lot of emphasis on women prevention.
Organising ‘awareness programmes in schools so that girl students
gain confidence in reporting such cases is suggested.
Domestic violence, sexual
assault and child abuse leave deep emotional wounds, indeed emotional
scars, that impact on many men's relationships with our wives, daughters,
sisters, mothers and friends;
we are the bystanders to
other men's violence, and have to make a choice: do we stay silent and
look the other way when our male friends and relatives insult or attack
women, or do we speak up?
We urge the governments and parliaments that have adopted laws to ensure
their implementation. We express appreciation to those who have put
in place programmes for women and girls affected by violence. We are
heartened by the increased attention being paid to the role of men and
boys in preventing violence against women, and the link between gender-based
violence and the spread of HIV and AIDS.
Since 1991, approximately
1,700 organizations in 130 countries have participated in the 16 Days
Campaign!
Amrita is
an alumna of the University of Oxford and writes on issues of women,
media and culture.
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