Violence on women
Navigating the Digital World with Netiquette
At every nook and corner in Kathmandu, you will see temples with female deities covered in red powder, garlands, and vibrant colored clothes. Visitors to these temples are both male and female devotees, who fervently chant Jai devi. Unfortunately, these chants of respect and devotion to female power are only offered to mute statues in temples. The women in our society who are considered the avatars of these goddesses are devalued, disrespected, and abused. In our holy books, women are considered the incarnation of our goddesses but very little of this is reflected in our society. We tirelessly chant the goddesses’ names in the temples, but shamelessly abuse our women at homes. The omnipresent gender discrimination and violence against women in our communities is hard to ignore.
Two weeks before Women’s Day, we witnessed an acid attack on two young girls in the middle of the capital for unknown reasons. Who is to blame for this barbaric act? Our fragile law system? Our unbalanced social infrastructure that denies women their rights and freedoms? Regardless, our women are shunned, abused, and scared. Simple thing like getting out of the house is burdened with fear and safety concern, and a society where women see eye to eye with men seems like a fairy tale.
Violence against women has been the staple of gender discrimination. With already a long list of violence that includes rape, assault, domestic abuse, and discrimination, acid attack is the tipping point for the inhuman crimes against women. It is one of the most common gender based violence against women in South Asia, especially Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal. The intention behind such an inhuman act is to disfigure and deface the victims rather than to kill them so that they are not only physically wounded but also emotionally traumatized and weakened. Moreover, easy accessibility of acid in countries like Nepal, India, and Bangladesh makes it an inexpensive and destructive weapon to terrorize the victims.
The targets of acid attacks are mostly women and children and the perpetrators are usually husbands, thwarted lovers, or in-laws. These attacks are usually carried out to seek revenge especially for refusing love proposals, resisting sexual assault, giving birth to a girl, insufficient dowry, and family or neighbor disputes. In our society where women are harshly judged on their beauty and appearance, disfigurement of one’s face is beyond ostracizing, putting the victims into a “walking dead” situation.
Every year, around 1,500 cases of acid attacks are reported globally. These numbers are already high but they barely reflect the true scale of the problem. Often times these incidents go unreported due to the fear of social stigmatization and severe retaliation from perpetrators. Moreover, with inadequate law system that only protects women in patches; the perpetrators usually find a loophole. Despite committing a life-altering crime, these perpetrators face trivial punishment. This tells others that these horrendous acts constitute minor offense. In Nepal, there is no precise data on prevalence of acid attacks since these incidents are reported under domestic violence, but the number of incidents has been noticeably increasing over the last few years, especially in the Tarai belt. As long as our laws and patriarchal society do not see the need to protect women, they will continue to be victimized.
In 2014, the Women’s Day slogan was “Equality for Women is Progress for All”. Sadly, we have not made much progress; rather our standards and values have regressed— limiting these slogans to just hollow words. This year we celebrate the 105th Women’s Day but our women continue to be unsafe. Despite increasing female participation in the economy and leadership roles, violence against women is still on the rise. In the last decade, we have had two women leaders become CNN Heroes and set examples of leadership globally. We hope to see more women lead and represent us on the world map in the coming days. However, incidents that halt women power and growth make it difficult to believe that we are progressing, and a world where women are equal, discrimination-free, and safe seems far-fetched.
Nonetheless, we continue to find one or the other extravagant way to celebrate Women’s Day. Long speeches about women empowerment with lists of women development goals were delivered and a handful of women who were able to survive the patriarchy, oppressive social norms, and fragile laws were cherished, talked, and celebrated. But, we must not forget that for every Anuradha Koirala and Pushpa Basnet there are hundreds of Simas and Sangeetas who do not make it through the brutalities of our society.
Sima and Sangita will slowly move from the headlines to the last pages of the newspapers and soon be forgotten. It will take another Sima or Sangita to awaken the society and revisit the laws. And how many of these Simas and Sangitas will have to be sacrificed before our laws and society can protect them? This year Women’s Day came with a new slogan: Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it. This year we must put the words into action to create a secure society for women where they can openly embrace their dreams, feel protected by society and law, and walk shoulder to shoulder with men without being frightened or abused. Let’s give every woman and every girl the opportunity to thrive and rise to their potential without letting our weak laws and broken social structures beat her down. Let us make it happen!
The author is Executive Director of Ujyalo Foundation
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