#IndiasDaughter
March 8th is here again, and we are celebrating womanhood and women across the globe.
BBC has come up with a documentary called #IndiasDaughter to mark the occasion. As we know (if we are not living under a rock), of the beyond horrendous gang-rape of a young girl in India’s capital New Delhi, that shook the world with its intensity and woke up many from their slumber. In the documentary, one of the convicted rapist has been interviewed and he shows no remorse, blames the dead girl for resisting the rape and asserts his thinking isn’t uncommon. Should we be shocked? Well, many of us are acting to be! And I don’t understand why? However, that is not my issue with the screening of the documentary.
I want to call it out what it really is: a TRP driven, disaster porn.
Now, before the Freedom of Speech police hunt me down, I insist, hear me out. I do not support bans, and in this case too, I am not advocating banning the screening. I just want to call a spade a spade. It was, I repeat, a horrendous crime. It is brutal and still leaves me numb when I think of it. But not every story has 2 angles. Why do I need to hear out the convict? Even if he were to show remorse, why? How does that change the fact, that a young, aspiring, intelligent, self-assured girl is now dead. There can NEVER be a justification for rape. There can be / has been justification for murders in many a cases, but NOT rape. Period.
The intent for this movie is not to create awareness. Please tell me how many of us are unaware of the incident, it’s horrific nature, and what has followed? Please tell me, to how many of us, is it a surprise that justice hasn’t been served yet? Please tell me, how many of us, haven’t felt helpless over this incident time and again? So, please enlighten me, how is this documentary helping?
Here is my thought: The world likes to hold an idea of India, as they do of so many nations in the world. Typical stereotypes exist - the African subcontinent as poor, China as ruthless, US about broken families, Europe as cold and distant, except if you are in Zurich or Paris or London and India – snakecharmers, roadside shit, callcenter, cows, arranged marriage and now rapes.
Why is it not about me? And so many like me? I come from a simple middle-class upbringing, and that was my surrounding forever. I never worked at a call center. I did not walk through slums every day, I went to a non-missionary English school and my first language always has been English. Like most of my countrymen, I am bilingual and am well-versed in my mother tongue too. I have played building blocks, legos, cricket, hockey and participated in choirs, and theater and debates, and science competitions .. and won. I have read science and math – and no, I wasn’t unique: every kid who went to school, studied that. That was and is the curriculum. I wore pink and blue. I got bruised and I wasn’t a social outcast. That was everyone – boys and girls alike. We all had a deadline to be home – again most boys and girls alike; mainly because we’d do our homework, assignments, have dinner and spend time with the family. When in college, we have had late night parties and all the fun there is. At 22, I started working at a multinational company like many others – again, boys and girls alike. And no, not at a call-center but at a development center where we wrote codes, we worked on designs and used our education and gained experience that eventually helped us add value to wherever we went in the world. I did not have an arranged marriage, I met and dated guys before I met and fell in love with the man I now have the honor of calling my husband, and no we did not fight battles with our family to get married. And 90% of my friends have similar life..
But that is never are a story..
And neither are :
Sindhutai Sapkal - also known as 'Mother of Orphans' is an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for her work for raising orphan children.
Lakshmi Sehgal - was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement, an officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women's Affairs in the Azad Hind government. Sahgal is commonly referred to in India as "Captain Lakshmi", a reference to her rank when taken prisoner in Burma during the Second World War.
Pi Sangkhumi - 60, former president of MHIP, is a happy woman. It’s been her dream to ensure reforms related to marriage and inheritance as she has seen generations of Mizo women suffer because of the legal biases in the system
Ritu Biyani - An extraordinary courageous woman, Dr. Capt. Ritu Biyani, is based in Pune. She is a woman who has worn several hats – a dental surgeon in army, first Lady Officer paratrooper from the army dental corps, a mountaineer, skydiver and a thorough nomad.
SavitriBai Phule - was an Indian social reformer and poet. Along with her husband, Jyotirao Phule, she played an important role in improving women's rights in India duringBritish rule. The couple founded the first women's school at Bhide Wadai in Pune in 1848.She also worked to abolish discrimination and unfair treatment of people based on caste and gender.
Sunita Krishnan - is an Indian social activist and chief functionary and co-founder of Prajwala, a non-governmental organization that rescues, rehabilitates and reintegrates sex-trafficked victims into society.
Jyotsna Sitling - India’s first female tribal IFS officer, genuinely passionate about the environment, who has carried her spirit for work over the years to become the recipient of the paramount honour for environment conservation in India – the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar
Sarla Thakral - was the first Indian woman to fly an aircraft.Born in 1914, she earned an aviation pilot license in 1936 at the age of 21
Dr. Rani Bang - Dr. Rani Bang is Indian social activist, researchers working in the field of community health in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, India. She and her husband have revolutionized healthcare for the poorest people in India and have overseen a programme that has substantially reduced infant mortality rates in one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the world. The WHO (World Health Organisation) and UNICEF have endorsed their approach to treating newborn babies and the programme is currently being rolled out to parts of Africa.
Rajkumari devi - Rajkumari Devi is no astrologer. But with self-acquired expertise in agriculture she has become proficient in assessing the quality of soil in her area and ensuring successful harvests. With three decades of experience, Kisan Chachi or Farmer Aunty as she is called, has learnt all the nuances of good farming practices. Today, this 58-year-old mother of three grown-up children, cycles through the dusty lanes of villages in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, giving tips to people on kitchen farming and developing the right agri-based products for business. She has mobilised more than 300 women to form self-help groups (SHGs) and become financially independent.
...Our plethora of ISRO scientists who are women…
And many many many more…. Why is this not a narrative?
Are they and I lesser citizens of India? Where is our story?
I choose to celebrate womanhood by applauding these women and so many like them.
Note: Source of information on the accomplished women mentioned above : Wikipedia, businessline, the better India - heroes project
