In Hinduism there is a concept known as Shakti, literally translating as power or empowerment. Its meaning applies to the movement of all things- Shakti is said to be what makes the planets revolve around the sun. Most interestingly, Shakti is an exclusively feminine power and focuses particularly on fertility and sexuality, being the agent of all creation as well as change. However, one of the goddesses of Shakti is Kali, a fierce and destructive force- there’s an old story that says she used to the drink the blood of her enemies on the battlefield. 

There’s two different ways that you can look at this concept. On the one hand, women’s sexuality is incredibly powerful- far from the pallid, angelic Virgin that, say, 19th century Britain so cherished. However, many have also interpreted this to mean that female sexuality is something to be feared and therefore controlled; like the atom that, if split, could lead to catastrophic consequences.

Modern India

Perhaps it was this damaging worldview that inspired the comments made this week by Mukesh Singh, driver of the bus in which the brutal sexual assault and murder of Jyoti Singh AKA Nirbhaya (a pseudonym meaning ‘fearless one’) took place. To those unfamiliar, Ms. Singh was a 23 year old physiotherapy intern who, having boarded a private bus in South Delhi after a trip to the movies with a male friend, was dragged to the back of the bus, gang-raped and thrown from the vehicle while it was still moving. She died thirteen days later as a result of severe intestinal and genital injuries, indicating that the assailants had used an iron rod to penetrate her.

To Mukesh Singh, his views captured by a BBC documentary film crew, Nirbhaya was not a ‘decent girl’- she was out at night and therefore ‘only had herself to blame’ for attracting male molesters and consequently the attack itself. Furthermore, in his view her culpability for the attack extended as far as her behaviour during it- ‘she shouldn’t have fought back, she should have remained silent and allowed the rape’. 

Singh’s comments make for profoundly unsettling reading, particularly in light of the grotesque and utterly sadistic nature of the attack. The words ‘she should have remained silent’- sounds just like the most troubling interpretations of Shakti. A lawyer defending the rapists echoed this idea- ‘the girl is like a diamond… but if you leave a diamond on the street dogs will take it away’- women are precious but require ownership and control. However, the propensity to blame the victims of sexual violence before the attackers themselves is neither new nor uniquely Indian by any stretch of the imagination.

From American politicians discussing the lines between ‘legitimate rape’ and some undisclosed alternative concept, to European Twitter users comparing rape to wallet theft, the problem is widespread. In the UK, a poll conducted as recently as 2006 found that a third of all respondents felt rape to be the fault of the victim, while in 2012 a Welsh judge closed his conviction of a man accused of raping a teenage girl with the words “she let herself down badly. She consumed far too much alcohol and took drugs’’. This is a global problem that requires a global solution. 

The one comfort to this deeply upsetting story is that change is slowly taking place in India. From national legislation such as the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act of 2013 to state level programmes to increase primary school nutrition (thereby encouraging girls from rural areas to come to school, given that they are often left to bear the lion’s share of domestic labour) the winds of political change are blowing. Similarly, organisations such as the Young Women Social Entrepreneurship Development programme are redressing the national imbalance in opportunity in Indian business. 

Men- where are you?

However, while this progress is heartening, it is lacking in one crucial way. Change has only occurred thanks to the jaw-dropping efforts of a broad coalition of heroic women activists and campaigners- active participants in making society more equal, facing down water cannons, tear gas and severe violence from police- yet men remain conspicuously absent from this process and, particularly in India, relatively silent on these issues. This must change. 

As long as men continue to avoid participating in the global march to equality, we continue to maintain the global status quo, and therefore legitimise the comments and attitude of Mukesh Singh. By the same token, male participation in movements for balance between the genders does significant damage to the masculinised culture from which Singh’s wretched ideas are born. For example- if we men actively celebrated, rather than feared, the idea of female Shakti, we could interrupt the norms and practices that lead to violence against women. As speaker and activist Tony Porter notes- ‘my liberation as a man is tied to your liberation as a woman’.

Change is totally possible and, crucially, is not just confined to mass demonstrations or government-level lobbying. Gender inequality maintains its foothold in all aspects of society; not just through abstract structures and institutions but also through the network of daily interactions that make up our everyday lives- the words we say, the attitudes we hold, the practises we maintain. Changing how we talk and think about women is the root of changing how our world values them. 

A way forward

Therefore, and here I speak to men in particular, we have both the ability and the responsibility to be active participants in change on a daily basis. How much are you challenging the behaviour that contributes to societal gender inequality in your own circle? How much are you letting go because it doesn’t seem important? Have you ever found yourself blaming the victims of sexual violence, or failing to challenge those who do? Mukesh Singh only thinks the way he does because other people told him that that was an OK way to be; it’s learned behaviour that can be unlearned if we have the courage to question it.  

Last year Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, head of the UN’s women’s rights organization, made a direct call to Indian men to ‘take a stand and join a solidarity movement’. I say this direct challenge applies across the world. Global citizenship on this issue is not confined to criticizing the traditions and customs of faraway places. Rather, it requires regular self-reflection and active engagement.

If you're located in the UK, you can access the full BBC documentary on this story here. Also, you can read about the recent Indian court decision to ban the documentary in India here.

Editorial

Demand Equity

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By Sam Jones