'Why is there so much disrespect towards women in India?'

A writer, journalist and campaigner based in London, Sunny Hundal feels strongly about violence against women in India. In a freewheeling chat with dna, he explains why the problem is getting worse.

Hundal is by the world around him and a desire to explain events and to change people’s minds towards a better world. His favourite authors’ list includes the names of Naomi Klein and Arundhati Roy and he recently finished ‘1Q84’ by Murakami but don’t read fiction very often. “I’m just starting ‘Helium’, by Jaspreet Singh,” he says.

Hundal finds travelling on a train going through any part of India the best place to read a book. His topic for the forthcoming TedxPune is ‘60 million invisible women in India’. Explaining the choice of the topic, he said, “As a man of Indian origin, I have always felt I needed to raise my voice against violence against women by Indian men. Until recently, I focused on the UK, but after the gang-rape in Delhi late last year I became more interested in what was happening in India.”

Researching the issue further led him to the conclusion that the problem was getting worse, not better. He added, “Many women in India have been trying to raise awareness of this problem for years, and I felt I had to add my voice too. The approximate figure of ‘60 million missing women’ is an attempt to explain the scale of how bad the problem is. I get angry at how badly women in India are treated and feel partly responsible because this is my country of origin.”

Much has been said, written and suggested with regards to the recent incidents of violence against women nationwide, Hundal put forth his view as, “There are several reasons why violence against women in India is rising. Firstly, there are millions of unmarried men who cannot find brides because there is a growing imbalance in the sex-ratio. Plus, men are migrating to cities to look for work and are gathering in gangs together -- which increases violence because men in gangs are more likely to commit violence or get into other crime.” But most importantly, he feels, Indian men are not taught properly how to interact with women by their parents. “The casual harassment (called ‘eve teasing’) that women in India have to bear is unheard of in most countries in the world. Why is there so much disrespect towards women? Upbringing is a major part of this problem.” said Hundal.

On a lighter note, Hundal shares, “As a child I used to read crime-solving books series that we used to exchange in class, in Ambala and Chennai. I don’t read those any more but I have fond memories of always competing with class friends to get the latest Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew book.”

(Sunny Hundal will be presenting a talk at TedxPune 2013 to be held in the city on November 23 at Persistent Systems Ltd)