1. Have you cried and publicly announced it?
2. Have you derided the political insensitivity?
3. Have you said, oh, everyone is talking about Modi and no one cares about the Delhi gangrape?
4. Have you applauded Jaya Bachchan for breaking down in Parliament after insisting she have her say?
5. Have you handed out certificates to the last word on rape to someone who is sitting in a posh office and writing about it, just as I am doing now?
6. Have you signed a petition?
I have done none of these. There is a half-written piece. And I look around and see the same old riding-the-bandwagon of a media-propped tragedy.
Look at this ad:
When will we be a shamed India? Is it all about shame? A commercial brand using rape to sell its butter is shameful.
Then, there is this comment at a petition site under 'Reasons for signing' (It has got 170 'likes'):
"I guess until some big politician's wife and or daughter is raped, Indian politicians won't wake up"- B Suri, India
Does anyone realise how regressive it is? You talk about protecting women and allude to the rape of other women. How is a politician's wife or daughter to be blamed for laws and the acts of criminals?
Jaya Bachchan too touted the regressive "In the land where woman is worshipped" line, giving the example of goddess Durga. Her tears became national news.
A 23-year-old fighting for her life is a 'subject'. This is not one case. If we must speak, then speak at every opportunity we get. Speak before it becomes a TRP rating. It does not mean one should not speak about it. Just let's not get into a race to reach some goalpost.
- - -
End note
Raise these questions, particularly about a celebrity, and brown-nosers snigger. I, who have been accused of being too emotional in my writings, am given the riposte that it is okay to get emotional in Parliament, but not on a public forum like a blog. This is so asinine it does not even merit a response.
People who don't understand patriarchy are ready to lecture you.
I bring this up because it is just such an insecure masculine mindset; it afflicts some women too.
(c) Farzana Versey
