Monday, October 10, 2011

Violence Against Women - ACT or NOT TO ACT!

By Sanjukta Chaudhuri & Shani Kapoor

As we write this article we have been thinking what to call it, whether to name it violence against women (VAW) or not. It is something about this phrase, which makes a reader instantly turn a blind eye to its existence. Actually, it can be called ‘the battered syndrome’, whereby a reader consciously chooses not to read, considers it a battered topic, which ironically has become as battered as perhaps the lives of women expounded in it. Thus a topic so sensitive and socially relevant ends up losing the sensitivity of the very people listening, seeing and reading about it.

The so-called ‘battered syndrome’ coexists and thrives on the understanding of knowing it all. For the reader this phenomenon happens only to others, in other communities and by others. It is better left as one of those issues that are the work of the ‘bra burning feminists’. Perhaps, all of the above assumptions are a possibility but whether or not these are reasons enough for one to understand VAW, is questionable. In which case, what is needed is a different perspective of looking at the same thing, the issue of violence against women. This article is an attempt to break the misnomer on what is VAW and introduce a different lens to perceive subtleties in which it is perpetrated and perpetuated trans-nationally.

Let us narrate an incident that happened to one of us recently:

"I was invited to one of the informal social gatherings, where, after a quick round of greeting the guests in their usual course got divided into smaller cohorts. I, being part of one such group amidst other things, casually shared my interest on working to address the violation of women’s rights. No sooner did I say so, most of the people acknowledged it to be a novel and more so a noble profession. As the evening progressed and people became familiar with each other, I started to notice a pattern. All conversations regarding women, working women vis-a-vis homemakers, banter about their shopping fetish, loosely referring to women as the ‘weaker sex’, strangely, got directed at me. As if, each of those comments had an intonation of defense, of being threatened by my presence, more specifically a women’s rights activist. Where, the men of sorts, considered my work ‘anti-male’ and tried to instigate reactions by misogynist remarks. The women folk, on the other hand discretely kept silent. Some expectantly stared at me, as if it was ‘my business’ to retaliate and be their savior while others suggested ‘you asked for it'."

This episode is one among many that as women’s rights activists we are faced with. It is intriguing to know as to what do we understand by ‘violence against women’. What do we perceive as ‘violence’ per se? And how do we know that we do not have a role in it? These are some pertinent questions that time and again need to be raised, as there is more to what meets the eye.

The Face of Violence against Women

VAW is a phenomenon, which is all-pervasive irrespective of class, color, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, education background etc. It is both overt and covert, meaning in acts that are committed and even in those which are not but has the intent.

The form of violence, which is most familiar, is physical violence because it is visible. Usually seen in the form of bruises, broken body parts and burns etc, these are more direct forms of violence. The indirect forms of violence are subtle, embedded in the societal structure, socialized right from the cradle, preached by religion and culturally sanctioned. For instance, at early childhood, girls are raised by training them to be ‘girl like’ and being indoors while, boys are taught to be robust and proficient in outdoor activities. Why? It is a way of assigning them stereotypical gender roles and demarcating their legitimate sphere of existence. Seldom do we question and ask who sets the rules? Who says that women belong to the private sphere and men in the public sphere?

The answer is, this being a cultural norm, is a tradition and needs to be followed. This from a gender lens is essentially to sustain gender discriminatory practices. Thus, social institutions i.e. family, marriage, community, society, religion, culture and state are some of the ingrained systems of gender inequality which enforce the power and control of patriarchy. So, conceptually the perpetration of VAW could be summarized as direct, structural and cultural where direct is more in the form of personal violence, which is legitimized by social institutions and normalized in the garb of cultural validation. This trilogy perpetuates, sustains and reproduces the cycle of violence.

To understand the cycle of violence this illustration expounds the mechanism by which the patriarchal power and control is manifested in our everyday lives. These situations in a routine get normalized and become invisible. But in reality are red flags to ongoing violence and/or potential acts of violence. The spokes of the wheel indicate the attitude and behavior of the perpetrator used commonly to exercise absolute ownership of the victim. Thus, VAW ranges to include verbal, emotional, economic, sexual, physical and spiritual violence.

 

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