Medieval outlook

The fact that a Member of Parliament can make a statement as irresponsible as “rape of a lady who moves with strangers for days together and even beyond middle of the night is to be treated on a different footing” shows that in spite of all the advances that women in India have made, patriarchal attitudes are hard to change.

The MP in question is Shantaram Naik of the Congress discussing during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha the spate of rape cases in Goa.

Readers may recall the sensational case of the young girl Scarlet Keeling, who was also murdered and the more recent case of a Russian woman who alleged rape by a Goa politician. These, together with cases of strong-arming by the Russian mafia as well as several drug busts, have not helped Goa’s image as a friendly tourist destination and it is perhaps possible to understand how that might bother the MP.

However, the tenor and implication of his remark cannot be excused. Our courts have recognised marital rape — where the question of hanging about with strangers beyond midnight or “conduct unbecoming” hardly applies —  as being unacceptable. The woman’s right to say ‘no’ is no longer negotiable and while there are many grey areas in the relations between the sexes, rape is not one of them.

But more than the politics of rape, this is about prevailing attitudes to women. It is not unfair, surely, to expect a Rajya Sabha MP to have a better idea of the Constitution of India and the equal rights given to women in it. Nor is it unfair to expect that he be aware of the prevailing laws of the land. To blame the victim for a heinous crime is not just insensitive; it borders on the criminal.

Rightly, the MP faced the wrath of his fellows in the Rajya Sabha and he was admonished by the deputy chairperson for speaking derogatorily of women. His remarks were expunged from the records but it is necessary for us to comment upon them and to remember them. Because Naik’s sentiments are repeated every time there is a case of molestation where the victim does not match some popular perception of what a victim should be like.

This debate will continue because, sadly, Naik represents a section of society which is unashamed about its reprehensible and reactionary ideas about women and life. He must face the opprobrium he deserves; but we need to keep educating the society to which he belongs.