The news was full of another gang rape, this time in Mumbai...so the litany goes on. It reminded me of the strange tale I heard some time ago sitting having coffee with someone I had just met. A hotel cleaner had followed her into her room and attempted to rape her, but she managed to throw him off and highly upset, went straight downstairs to report the incident to the hotel manager and desk staff. This was received with smirks and derision. Incensed at their indifference, she decided to take her complaint to the police. They charged and arrested the man, who was sentenced to a beating, to which the girl was invited. After they had delivered some strokes with a cane, they asked her if she felt justice had been done.....the next bit of the story was utterly astonishing....she said that she didn't think he'd been beaten enough, at which they invited her to have a go ! She accepted the challenge and finished off the beating herself ! Of course, what was most wounding to the man, was not the beating itself, but the fact that he'd been beaten by a woman !
The strange situation of independent women in India, is a sign of the times and the globalisation of cultural traditions - old habits die hard and women seen out of the context of the family, are a sticking point, for they are regarded not as people but as objects, in a patriarchal society. The emancipated woman challenges tradition and economic structure.
Walking home one evening at about 10 o'clock after having had dinner with a friend, a matter of a 10 minute distance, a young man entered the road down which I was walking, on a motor bike - the headlight blinded me and as he approached, he slowed down and then lent out and with all his force, punched me in the chest, knocking me off balance. He quickly sped off, stopping half-way down the road, to look back to see my reaction !
Most women riding on scooters cover themselves up with a scarf, so that only their eyes are revealed - this is ostensibly to protect their skin from the sun, but I think it also gives them a modicum of protection from insolent staring and harassment ! It's only through education at grass root level, that respect can be nurtured and ridicule eliminated.
The strange situation of independent women in India, is a sign of the times and the globalisation of cultural traditions - old habits die hard and women seen out of the context of the family, are a sticking point, for they are regarded not as people but as objects, in a patriarchal society. The emancipated woman challenges tradition and economic structure.
Walking home one evening at about 10 o'clock after having had dinner with a friend, a matter of a 10 minute distance, a young man entered the road down which I was walking, on a motor bike - the headlight blinded me and as he approached, he slowed down and then lent out and with all his force, punched me in the chest, knocking me off balance. He quickly sped off, stopping half-way down the road, to look back to see my reaction !
Most women riding on scooters cover themselves up with a scarf, so that only their eyes are revealed - this is ostensibly to protect their skin from the sun, but I think it also gives them a modicum of protection from insolent staring and harassment ! It's only through education at grass root level, that respect can be nurtured and ridicule eliminated.
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