________________________________
From: giri kishore <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thu, June 17, 2010 11:56:24 AM
Subject: Re: [bm] Molestation
________________________________
From: Nutan Thakur <nutanthakurlko@ yahoo.in>
To: bharatudaymission@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Sun, June 6, 2010 9:24:14 AM
Subject: [bm] Molestation
Friends,
I present a live case before u. It started with my putting forth a small
statement- ""A Lt General accused of molesting a Colonel's wife is thrown out
of Army. Ye kya ho raha hai?" on the social networking site Facebook. To this
there were different answers but the one that really stunned me was from a
friend w...hose view was that- " No man can molest a woman , and that too a
married woman of force ... NEVER , without her willing consent". He also says
that - "I have always observed ... that this type of stupid behaviour is common
in love affairs".
It is this statement by an otherwise learned and sober person that I want to
present before you all for discussion and opinion making. To me the person who
made the statement is not important, nor is my idea to criticize him or to
dissect his background. To me what really matters is the fact that even today,
in the 21st Century, there is a male perception that goes on to say that
molestation of a woman (particularly a married woman) is not possible (without
her consent). If slightly extended this statement comes to mean that
molestation, rape and such other lurid and heinous crimes against women are
simply not possible as long as the women are not a party to it. Frankly I not
only completely disagree with this statement but also find it absolutely
sickening. And also terrifying. Terrifying because it is this kind of male
mind-set that is responsible for many heinous and dangerous crimes against
women go completely unheard and unpunished. What this
gentleman is saying might as well be the mental thought process of the Judge
or the Magistrate who has been given the responsibility of delivering Justice.
And if the person has already made a presumption that there can't be a crime of
this nature against a woman (more so in the case of married women), then one
can understand what kind of justice is the woman going to get from the
concerned court.
We have seen the dramatic version of these situations in the celebrated film
"Damini" where "Taarikh pe taarikh" could not give justice to the raped woman
till the very end. We also know of such widely discussed cases on rape like the
Mathura rape case and Bhanwari Devi case where victim had to pass through such
insulting times even in the law courts that it led to great revolt and
resistance by the women activists from all over India. But it seems that no
change of law and regulations on Rape has been able to actually change the
deep-rooted antipathy of this kind of people for whom women are nothing more
than a plaything.
If what these people say is true then what is the need of any law on Rape? Why
have different sections on women abuse and molestation? I am not commenting at
all on the case related with the Lt Genera in the Army where he lost his job
due to the allegations made by a Colonel's wife. Each case is different and
must be treated so. I also don't say that women don't feign wrong abuse. In my
husband Amitabh ji's policing career, I have myself come across such cases
where it was clear that the woman is making false accusations. I remember a
case in Gagaha police station in Gorakhpur, when my husband was very new in the
service and after a raid that he had conducted, the woman whom they had
arrested with weapons had made written accusations of rape against 10-12 police
officers, except luckily my husband. The matter got exposed within a day or two
but it had given my husband a lot of mental harassment.
But then to sweepingly generalize such a statement is really too much. In my
opinion it shows the poor mental outlook and extremely biased world view of
many of the male folk. It also gives the reason why still justice is being
denied to one half of the human population in such a large measure.
I as a social activist and a gender-rights activist not only strongly condemn
such wrongly-placed mental outlook but also consider them extremely dangerous
for the proper development and functioning of human society in a just manner. I
know that such a statement by an individual is not really important, what
actually counts is the overall gender perception. And this statement somehow
seems to represent the same distorted gender perception
Dr Nutan Thakur,
Secretary,
IRDS,
Lucknow
# 94155-34525
Nutan ji,
the remark you have qouted is obnoxious. What about the minor girls who do not
understand what sex is? Does he wants to say that those poor girls are also
part of this hinoius activity. I consider it to be abnormality which has become
rampant in last few years. It has to be tackled not only on Govt. level but
also socially.I perfectly agree in some cases it may be true when it is man
managed. I am happy you have raised this issue. If you wish you may write a
detailed Art in Hindi for a Journal AKAR which I edit from Kanpur. giving all
aspects of this malady. Thanks.
Dr. Giriraj Kishore
11/3210 Souterganj Kanpur 1
I agree and respect your view in general but language needs to be convincing.
Thanks. I am for all that what you have written but in my own way. No one has a
right to molest any body e ven through words even, It comes under Hinsa.
