A struggle that has to end

“Equality is not a concept. It’s not something we should be striving for. It’s a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women.” ~ Joss Whedon

Gender justice is a crucial topic in today’s society since gender injustice and imbalance are still widespread around the world. It comes in a variety of forms including lack of access to resources for education, healthcare, economic hardship and social and institutional discrimination. The idea of gender justice advocates for the full realisation of rights and opportunities for people of all genders. The aim is to achieve equality in all aspects of life and living. There are 195 countries in this world and proudly 193 of those nations are members of the UN. India is one of a total of 152 countries that are still growing out of the 195 total nations. Developed nations as well as underdeveloped or emerging nations struggle with the issue of gender justice. Gender-based violence continues to be a major global issue despite many obstacles and India is not an exception.

The Preamble of The Indian Constitution starts with, “We the PEOPLE of India.” Here the word ‘people’ is used which has not been defined under the constitution of India hence, not being specific towards any gender. The Indian Constitution makes gender equality a fundamental right. The constitution protects women’s equal rights and gives the government to enact anti-inequity policies. The ideals of ‘equal pay for equal work’ and ‘right to work’ are also recognised by the constitution. If the Constitution of India recognises and respects the principle of gender equality, why is it still a social assumption?

The relevance of gender disparity in India varies depending on location and socio-economic factors. Poverty is the key aspect behind the downfall in any situation, due to which the victims are easily trapped in an abusive relationship due to the financial dependency on the abuser, these sorts of economic disparities adds up to the dowry related crimes, the brides are brutally abused, assaulted, tortured and even killed because she was viewed as golden bird for the family and not as a part of it. The patriarchal blindfold is equally responsible for the horrors that takes place around us. It’s always the girl who has to learn good values, decency and humbleness to avoid drawing attention towards her and it’s never the boy who is taught to respect girls and treat them as an equal. While we are on the topic of patriarchy, I would like to take you back to 1972 when the session court questioned the morality and character of a minor girl for being alone with men in a closed space, accused her of lying and dismissed the case, letting the accused men free. Her only fault was that she was asked to stay back for interrogation and others were sent out of the police station. The Matura rape case happened inside a police station, where one goes in search of protection, the place where she was suppose to feel the safest turned out be her worst nightmare. This case was alarming for the whole nation and changes were implemented in the country. For the betterment of the people and to curb such social horrors awareness programs were conducted, education was given in all divisions of educational institutes, workplaces and to the general public as well. A new word was defined by the apex court, which was ‘consent’, and punishment for such act was increased in order to create a fear and a sense of safety within the nation. But changing the psychological view of a person towards life, society or fellow humans is a challenge indeed and at times it is impossible to change it.

Andre Malraux said, “Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides.”

A quote that is apt for a bus driver who shock the whole world by his actions, not only India the whole world was terrorised as no such inhumane activity was seen before. A 23-year-old girl, whose name was unknow to the man was his victim, he horrifically disfigured her body inside out and sexually assaulted her, as if the victim is an object that is meant to be thrashed. This incident is of 2012, the infamous ‘Nirbhaya case’. This prove that no matter how much awareness and education is given the view of a person towards his surroundings can not be changed. The accused showed no guilt for his actions rather he seemed to be proud of what he did.

Not much later another infamous case of Acid Attack came into the light in year of 2015. An innocent 15-year-old was assaulted with acid by her acquaintance. The hope, ambitions, and will of that girl was crushed in front of hundreds of people when acid was thrown at her in the middle of a usual day in her life. After that incident the easy availability of the hazardous substance was challenged. It was bought into light that appearance is an aspect of acceptance in the society, it can be a reason behind someone’s confidence and all that can be taken away by the blink of an eye and the punishment for it was a mockery towards the victim.

In a country as diverse and culturally rich as India, the issues of gender injustice, sexual abuse, dowry, assault and others have remained intertwined and deeply rooted in society for centuries. This complex nexus has posed significant challenges to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. The detailed study of the topic tells us that there are many flaws in the legal system of India, but the state tries its level best to amend those mistakes. The incidents that took place cannot be changed, the justice system is well aware that those incidents scared the people of the nation, the only thing that could be done by them was giving hope. Hope for the betterment of the country, hope for equal rights, recognition and respect. A hope that, ‘the struggle will end’.

written by Panya Tyagi