Fighting harassment on India's streets
http://indiasecular.wordpress.com
Source: csmonitor

New Delhi - For artist Jasmeen Patheja, moving to the
high-tech hub of Bangalore for college was an
introduction to India's chic new cosmopolitanism. But
the move also brought on something more regressive:
the nightly catcalls of mirchi (chili) and tamatar
(tomatoes) – food items being the common sexual taunts
for women pedestrians.

"I found myself feeling more and more vulnerable," Ms.
Patheja recalls. "And in addition to feeling angry and
helpless, I wondered why I didn't get the support I
needed when I was with friends."

Rather than ignore the taunts, Patheja channeled her
frustration into founding the Blank Noise Project, one
of several new Indian advocacy groups devoted to
raising awareness about sexual harassment.

Last year, volunteers stenciled testimonies from
harassment victims all over Connaught Place, New
Delhi's central roundabout, and the group's blog posts
candid photos of "eve-teasers" – the Indian euphemism
for sexual harassers. Now, Patheja is collecting
clothes that women were wearing when they were
harassed, preparing to display the outfits en masse in
major cities in hopes of confronting the notion that
intimidated women "ask for it" by wearing provocative
outfits.

The efforts of academics, women's groups, and artists
like Patheja are raising major questions about gender
issues and the need for safe public space in a country
that's often preferred to ignore them. Amid India's
booming economy and changing social atmosphere, most
women still face taunts and groping on a near-daily
basis.

Walks around town, even in the country's gleaming new
offices and malls, are often fraught with unwelcome
comments or advances. A permissive attitude toward
"eve-teasing" has made change difficult, with
offenders frequently dismissed as harmless or even
justified, and run-down and often maze-like urban
infrastructure can mean that many public spaces remain
threatening for women.

For her part, Patheja's highly visible demonstrations
have turned Blank Noise Project into one of India's
most well-known – and perhaps most controversial –
community-art projects. But other groups have taken a
more systematic approach to advancing women's safety.

New Delhi-based Jagori has conducted comprehensive
safety audits of the city's neighborhoods, and its new
"SafeDelhi" campaign has set up kiosks and support
lines to help women define and report sexual
harassment. This year, the group distributed over
5,000 antiharassment stickers to rickshaw drivers,
whose green-and-yellow three-wheelers are often
intimidating vehicles for solo women.

When sociologist Shilpa Phadke helped start the
academic Gender and Space Project in Mumbai (Bombay),
she had not counted on a public advocacy role. But
when an interview with a rail official led to his
request for help in making stations less threatening
for women, the Project's graduate students sprang into
action, counting every broken light in 35 city
stations.

In cities like Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore, women's
self-defense classes have grown increasingly popular,
with upper and middle-class women wait-listed for
courses in karate and the Israeli martial art krav
maga.

But for all the efforts being made to safeguard women
against harassment, even the major statutes against
sexual harassment in India have proven troublesome.
Activists have been quick to point out that the laws
against attacking the "modesty" of women do more to
regulate women's behavior than safeguard their rights.

Pratiksha Baxi, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal
Nehru University and one of India's foremost experts
on sexual harassment, remains skeptical of the
ordinances. "The provisions aim at regulating women's
sexuality rather than protecting their autonomy or
their right to be in public spaces without being
harassed or raped," Ms. Baxi says.

For those who speak out against sexual harassment on
India's streets, there is the knowledge that the
consequences of protest have occasionally been deadly.
Last year, the wife of a prominent Lucknow politician
was shot when she tried to stop a group of men from
harassing her daughter-in-law. In 2003, a Kolkata
(Calcutta) police officer was beaten to death when he
tried to stop five colleagues from harassing a woman
who was riding a motorcycle.

And in spite of the increasing efforts to combat
"eve-teasing," the onus is still largely on Indian
women to restrict their own movement to avoid
harassment. "I don't step out of the house alone after
9:30 [p.m.], if I can help it," says Suparna Kudesia,
a 20-year-old education student from New Delhi, citing
countless incidents of being flashed or groped.

"Even when there's no harassment, women are prepared
for it," she says. "Having to be constantly on alert
takes its toll."

Efforts of groups like the Blank Noise Project and
Jagori are highlighting "eve-teasing's" pervasiveness.
If public spaces are slowly growing less intimidating
60 years after independence, harassment remains a
frustrating fact of life for Indian women.

"Things have gotten better and worse at the same
time," says Ritambhara Mehta, a gregarious 20-year-old
political science student from New Delhi. Since her
early teens, even a short ride has meant dealing with
unwanted advances or comments.

"Sometimes it's easier to say something," she says,
recalling the times when she's protested, "but
sometimes, words don't come out." Despite some bad
experiences, however, Ms. Mehta has resolved not to
let herself be intimidated.

"For me," she adds, "not going out can't be the
solution – if we all get scared and sit at home,
nothing will change." Source:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0823/p04s01-wosc.html
Related stories below:
ACID ATTACKS ON WOMEN
@http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/10/stories/2007081058850100.htm

MYSORE: A 22-year-old woman suffered serious burns
when her husband allegedly threw acid on her in Mysore
on Wednesday. It is also alleged that he forced her to
drink acid mixed with liquor.

The victim, Hina Fathima, is battling for life at the
Burns Ward of K.R. Hospital with 80 per cent burns.
According to doctors, it will be difficult to save Ms.
Fathima’s eyes. They said the eyes bore cigarette
burns also.

According to a statement by Ms. Fathima, recorded by
Udayagiri Police, her husband, Fairoz Ahmad Khan, a
resident of Nehru Nagar, was “tormenting her for the
past nine years for dowry”.

On Wednesday, he allegedly forced her to drink liquor
mixed with acid before throwing it on her. The police
have taken Fairoz into custody and are investigating.

The police said Fairoz, a scooter mechanic, married
Fathima about nine years ago and the couple have four
children, two male and two female. The police said
Fairoz was subjecting Ms. Fathima to physical and
mental torture.

They said Ms. Fathima had once returned to her
parent’s house in Hanumanthanagar in the city unable
to bear the torture. Then, her parents convinced her
to return to her husband.

On Wednesday, Fairoz reportedly came home in an
inebriated condition, sent his children outside and
bolted the door from inside. He abused Ms. Fathima and
forced her to drink liquor laced with acid.

When she began to scream unable to drink the lethal
brew, Fairoz, in a fit of rage, threw the mixture of
liquor and acid on her, it is said.

She was rushed to the hospital where the police
recorded her statement.

Ms. Fathima’s father, Muneer Khan, told The Hindu at
the hospital that her daughter’s tale of woe began
from the day she was married to Fairoz.

“Without knowing his antecedents, we gave our daughter
to him in marriage. Later, we realised that he had a
criminal bent of mind and had indulged in petty
crimes. I paid him Rs. 20,000 at the time of marriage.
But his greed grew and he persisted with demands for
more money and started torturing my daughter,” Muneer
said.

“He had threatened to throw acid on my daughter
several times before. But we had not taken it
seriously,” he added.

She used to come to my house frequently and confide in
me about her miseries. “But we always convinced her to
return to her husband,” he said.

Last year, Fairoz had demanded a motorcycle from his
in-laws.

“When I was unable to meet his demand for a
motorcycle, he tonsured my daughter’s head and paraded
her in the neighbourhood,” Muneer said with tears in
his eyes.

A complaint in this regard had been lodged with the
women’s police station, he added.

Ms. Fathima returned to her husband’s house only 20
days ago following requests from her in-laws.

Her in-laws had apparently promised that Ms. Fathima
would be taken care of well by Fairoz whose behaviour
had changed in the last one year.

Ms. Fathima’s relative, Shaheena Taj, in whom the
victim had confided about Wednesday’s incident, said
Fairoz became furious when Ms. Fathima refused to
drink the mixture of liquor and acid.

Fairoz pushed her to the ground, put his foot on her
neck and forced her to drink the lethal brew, she
said.

“When she was screaming, he disrobed her and threw
acid on her,” said Ms. Shaheena Taj.

The Hindu : Open Page @
http://www.hindu.com/op/2005/05/24/stories/2005052400491700.htm

Rameeza Rasheed

THE MEDIA has reported recently an acid attack on a
young woman and the readers would have passed it off
as yet another story on crimes against women. Is
society aware of the fact that, of all the gender
specific crimes against women, acid attack is the most
horrific one halting suddenly everything that revolves
around a woman's life?

This crime, which is very common in Bangladesh and
Afghanistan, has spread to India also. It is a crime
of vengeance and the reasons are related to refusal to
marry or accept proposals of love or sex and property
disputes. Often the offenders are persons known to the
victims. The purpose of the attack is to permanently
mutilate unsuspecting women by throwing sulphuric or
hydrochloric or nitric acid on the face with the
intention of disfiguring the face or to destroy the
physical appearance of the victim. It is an extreme
punishment for women because they will experience
excessive pain due to the melting of the skin tissues.
The deep penetration of the acid into the skin results
in exposure of bones. It causes blindness and loss of
hearing too.

It is near impossible for a woman to get back her
original looks after an acid attack. Reconstructive
plastic surgery and post operative care are very
costly and they need several such surgeries, with each
lasting four to five hours. After this attack women
become unfit to move in the outside world because of
the disfigurement of the face. Hence job and education
come to a halt.

Emotional trauma

The victim's parents are also punished because they
cannot settle such daughters in marriage and in India
unmarried girls become a permanent liability. The
impact of the crime is catastrophic for women. It is
because normal life is impossible and the future
remains bleak. The emotional trauma and the physical
and mental agony are unbearable and the victims often
contemplate suicide.

The offenders succeed in putting an end to the normal
life of women. It is an extreme form of revenge on
women. The families hesitate to go ahead with legal
battles to punish the offenders who come out on bail
easily due to imperfections in the prosecution
statements. Once they come out, they threaten the
victim's family with further damage. The conviction
rate for this crime is very low.

Acid attack cannot be treated as an act of rage
because the offenders plan meticulously the type of
acid to be used, the quantity, the time and the venue
of the attack. Insensitivity of the police, the
importance given by the judiciary to minor
contradictions and lapses in the prosecution's
statements cause the offender's easy escape from
conviction.

Crimes against women will decline only if the mindset
of men towards women changes. Drastic changes are
required in school education to make it value based.
Until then the goal of empowerment of women will
remain a distant dream.
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