Time to go...

And with this post, the 2012 Prajnya 16 Days Campaign draws to a close. And we close this blog, to re-open in time for the next season.

Thank you for walking with us. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your presence.

Events in the last two weeks have underscored how much this work belongs to everybody. We hope you will be back when we are.

Until then, goodbye!

Saying Goodbye

It has been over two weeks since the 2012 campaign ended, giving me a fair amount of time to recover and reflect. This post, my final task as the 2012 Campaign Associate, is a personal one. I have been a part of the Prajnya team for three months, long enough to become completely immersed in the campaign and to absorb and internalise Prajnya’s values and ideals. In spite of this, I hope you will believe that I am objective enough to say, without sounding like I am indulging in shameless self-promotion, that this campaign is a truly wonderful initiative, in so many ways.

The horrific assault of a young woman by a group of men on a moving bus in New Delhi, raped so brutally that her guts literally spilled out of her tortured body, has dominated the national discourse over the last few days. What this incident, and the many responses to it have revealed, is that gender sensitisation in our country is urgent and essential. This is what the campaign primarily aims to do, and what it does most successfully, in my opinion, by educating and informing both target audiences and the general public about gender violence. The quality of the resource persons who volunteered their time to speak at various campaign events was outstanding, and I was uplifted to see the impact they had in changing attitudes and opinions on violence against women.

I was also struck by the cathartic effect this campaign has, in its ability to organically create a safe space that allows women to speak freely about their experiences with gender violence. It was evident that many of these women had rarely (perhaps never) spoken about these incidents before. I never did share my own stories during the 16 days, preferring to listen and observe; yet, like every woman living in India that I have encountered, I have many. Some of those episodes left me feeling confused, some, sad, some, angry; but every time, every single time, I was afraid; and it is that fear, that wretched fear, which cripples you, knocks the air out of your lungs, makes you disoriented, inarticulate, helpless, that this campaign is fighting against, and fighting to extinguish, and that is why I am so proud to have been a part of it.

     

A campaign as ambitious as ours could not have happened without the assiduity and enthusiasm of the many people I had the opportunity to work with. I would like to thank Dr Swarna Rajagopalan and Anupama Srinivasan - from my first day, you both made me feel welcome, valued and appreciated. Thank you for never being selfish with your knowledge, and for always having faith in me. Subhashini Selvanathan, who does so much and takes so little credit – thank you for being such a strong and ever-reliable pillar of support. Thanks to Jennifer Raj, my constant companion throughout the 16 days, who lightened my load considerably, and who made many a car ride less dreary with her eclectic stories.

Thanks to all our volunteers this year, who took time out from their busy schedules to lend a helping hand. A very special thank you to Shyamala Rajagopalan; your generosity and affection were invaluable, and I will never forget your sweet tea, which has converted me into a regular tea-drinker. And finally, thank YOU, all of you, for reading our blog, for following our activities on Facebook and Twitter, for coming to our campaign events, for writing to us, for being involved.

It’s been a great journey.

Voices on violence -- Part II

As part of this year's campaign, the video project, Chennai Men say NO to Violence against Women, gathered 16 prominent men in the city who gave their thoughts on why they say NO to violence against women. These videos were not scripted and the men expressed their own personal opinions.

Here's a collection of their voices:
".....every man somewhere embedded in his head has a violent streak because he does believe he is more powerful of the two sexes......" -- T.M. Krishna, Carnatic musician

"....(children) learn from their parents and families more then they learn from books and school. If we start having violence at home, unfortunately that is the thing they start learning as well...." -- Kiruba Shankar, CEO of BusinessBlogging

"Women should be empowered. Violence against them would decrease if they were empowered...I was addressing a group of rotarians at a rotary meeting once and I was extremely surprised to find out when I asked the question, 'Do you what or who determines the sex of the child?', and only two out of a group of sixty seemed to know....." -- P.C. Ramakrishna, theatre personality

"It is ironic that I am even having to discuss an issue of violence against women in my country, a country that was founded and built upon the concept of non-violence.." -- Karthik Kumar, actor

"....men have to come out of the mind-set. First of all, they have to treat woman as human. Do not think of them as mother or sister, but at least think like they are your friends..." -- Arasu Dennis, prominent restobar manager

"...I think they should set an example to also implicate that kind of law where even some men who doesn't like to treat women equally are forced to treat them equally..." -- Sadhagopan Ramesh, cricketer

"...they say a country is as good as we treat our women and I am ashamed to say that we seem to be lagging far behind on that everyday, every moment..." -- Anil Srinivasan, pianist

"...there is no wonder that 45 percent of the women in our country are anemic and underweight. Every fourth child born in this country is underweight...." -- Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, member of Parliment (Rajya Sabha)

"....I think our culture has a big role in conditioning us and in shaping how we view each other but equally we have a big role in shaping our culture..." -- Nityanand Jayaraman, writer & social activist

"...the fact that it is a global phenomenon, happens across the world, puts men as part of mankind to great shame...." -- Venky Rajgopal, Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Terrain Fashions Ltd

"....if you have beat women, be ashamed, be distressed. Don't do this mistake any more...." -- Peer Mohamed, Special Correspondent, Puthiya Thalaimurai

"...don't think of such shameful things as heroism....." -- RJ Dheena

"...any man who indulges in violence at any point of time against his wife or anyone else, particularly of the opposite sex, has a problem with his own sense of identity...." -- P.W.C. Davidar, I.A.S

".....So that the children are not hungry, can wear nice dress and eat good food, with difficulty, they (women) go out and work. when they come back, in different forms, they are forced to face difficulties on the bus...." -- E. Sarathbabu, CEO Food King

"....I think chivalry boils down to every man taking a vow on valentine's day or some other occasion that they will not take a rupee as dowry, that they will finance and in fact defray the cost of the entire wedding should you insist on having a reception....." -- Sanjay Pinto, advocate & columnist

"....Its not new. Its been there for a while. It is largely related to this whole notion of purity and chastity that we have which we apply only to women....." -- Dr. Vijay Nagaswami, psychiatrist

To watch the individual videos, log on to www.youtube.com/gritprajnya

Voices on violence -- Part I

Over 16 days, through a variety of formats, gender violence was discussed resulting in a range of opinions and thoughts.

Here's a collection:
-- Someone witnesses a violence and as a witness, where does our responsibility begin and end?
-- Internet is dangerous because it damages your brain (from a school student)
-- Many of our laws are paper tigers. Eventually it boils down to us
-- Many believe that violence is just a part of marriage... So how many of you here are married?
-- If a law comes, you must become aware. The law will not come to your door
-- How long to adjust?
-- What are we doing to stop violence?
-- It would be common sense if we can learn from other (countries') experiments in law
-- Do we want the violence to stop or do we want to prosecute the perpetrator?
-- We must go so far but for whatever reason, they refuse our help, we must not sit in judgement
-- Violence could be a sign of underlying problems in the relationship
-- Violence can take you by surprise, it can happen when you don't expect. It can be father, uncle, or some relative
-- If we are to bring down the crime rate against women, cases need to be time bound and there needs to be surety of punishment
-- As girls grow older, their public space shrinks. Whereas, for boys, their spaces expands... but for older women, their spaces increase again after a certain age
-- Well if a good looking guy stares at me, I might be flattered. But a not so cute guy, hmmm (in response to the question, "is staring harassment?")
-- 'Heroism" as a concept is very confusing for the common man. It makes them practice violence based on some out-dated values and self-righteous ego. Like how Romance is unrealistically portrayed in main-stream cinema, so is Violence
-- One of the requisites for making a workplace more comfortable is to have a powerful anti-sexual harassment policy that has teeth
-- Don't blame women to let men go scot-free
-- Your (sexual harassment) policy does not instill confidence, it's how you handle it
-- A lot of girls are not even aware of what violence is
-- We live in a society where women are treated as goddess at one end and with violence on the other
-- The root of violence is fear. If the society can become fearless, if each individual knew what it felt like not to feel fear and feel safe and protected, we have cracked it

Day 16 -- Outlawing gender violence

For the last day, Prajnya organized a symposium, Outlawing Gender Violence, for legal professionals and students. Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault and Violence and Domestic Violence were some of the key issues that were discussed.

The morning started off with a session on Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and gender violence. Ms. Geeta Ramaseshan gave a background about the international agreement adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly. Countries that are part of the convention have committed to submit national reports on measures they have taken to comply with their treaty obligations. NGOs and women organizations send shadow reports to CEDAW on the ground realities. 

The second session focused on Indian laws relating to gender violence. The panel was composed of Ms. Vidya Chetan, Ms. K. Santhakumari and Ms. Sheila Jayaprakash. Ms. K. Santhakumari gave a history behind the crafting of the law on rape and sexual assault.  She touched on each type of assault and spoke about the drawbacks and deficiencies in the law especially in regards to marital rape. Ms. Sheila Jayaprakash talked about workplace sexual harassment. She touched upon the history that led to the Vishaka guidelines and talked about how companies should craft their sexual harassment policies. Ms. Vidya Chetan spoke about the Domestic Violence Act. 

After the presentation, participants broke out into three different groups where they got to sit with one of the lawyers and hear their expertise. The questions were varied and touched on a gamut of issues --- with regards to sexual abuse of children, what are the remedies available to victims? Can third-parties report incidents of sexual abuse of minors?; if a victim were to conceive because of a rape, what happens?; Are there women in supreme court?; What is the difference between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sexual harassment policies?; If a man is wrongfully implicated as a perpetrator, what happens?

The third session focused on gender violence laws around the world. Ms. NV Sreejaya talked about the laws in the United Kingdom especially in regards to domestic violence and whether or not they have succeeded. Mr. Daniel Lee from the U.S. Consulate gave an overview of the American law. He touched briefly on domestic violence, workplace sexual harassment, hate crimes and same-sex marriages. Mr. Philipp Oliver Gross from the EU Delegation to India spoke about the European Union (EU) and violence against women. He said the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights was working on a survey across all 27 member states to measure the frequency and severity of violence against women in EU and the first survey results will be presented in 2013. 

A big thank you to the all presenters who shared their expertise and valuable time.

Major Indian judiciary rulings related to rights of women

For the last day, Prajnya organized a symposium, Outlawing Gender Violence, for legal professionals and students. Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault and Violence and Domestic Violence were some of the key issues that were discussed.

What are the major decisions of the Indian Judiciary relating to the Rights of Women?

• C.B. Muthamma vs. Union of India (AIR 1979 SC 1868): The Supreme Court of India laid down that seniority promotion shall not be denied on the ground of sex.
  
• Air India vs. Nargesh Meerza (AIR 1981 SC 1829): The Supreme Court of India confirmed that a woman shall not be denied a job on mere gender grounds.
  
• Mohammed Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano (AIR 1985 SC 945): The Supreme Court granted equal right of maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code 1973 to a divorced married woman notwithstanding the personal law.
  
• -Bodhisattwa v. Ms. Subhra Chakraborty (AIR 1996 SC 922): The Supreme Court held that rape is a crime against basic human rights.
  
• Vishakha v. State of Rajasthan (AIR 1997 SC 301): The Supreme Court, considering the inadequacy of legislation on the point, assumed the role of legislature and defined sexual harassment and laid down instruction for the employers.
  
• Apparel Export Promotion Council v. A. K. Chopra (AIR 1999 SC 625): The Supreme Court found all facets of gender equality including prevention of sexual harassment in the fundamental rights granted by the Constitution.
  
• Githa Hariharan v. Reserve Bank of India (AIR 1999 SC 1149): The Supreme Court interpreted Section 6(a) of Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 and Section 19(b) of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 in such a way that father and mother get equal status as guardians of a minor.
  
• Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Female Workers (Muster Roll) (AIR 2000 SC 1274): The Supreme Court extended the benefits of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 to the Muster Roll (Daily Wagers) female employees of Delhi Municipal Corporation. The Court directly incorporated the provisions of Article 11 of CEDAW into Indian Law.
  
• Chairman, Railway Board v. Chandrima Dass (AIR 2000 SC 988): The Supreme Court awarded compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs to an alien woman under Article 21 of Constitution, who has been a victim of rape.
  

 

What laws govern domestic violence in India?

For the last day, Prajnya organized a symposium, Outlawing Gender Violence, for legal professionals and students. Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault and Violence and Domestic Violence were some of the key issues that were discussed.

What Laws govern Domestic Violence in International Law?

The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, or the CEDAW, deals with Domestic Violence. Article 2 speaks of comprehensive state obligation to eliminate discrimination against women, while Article 5 speaks of the elimination of prejudices and practices, based on the stereotyped roles of women and men, and Article 16 elaborates on the elimination of discrimination against women in marriage and family relations: equality of women and men, same rights and responsibilities.

What Laws govern Domestic Violence in India?

In India, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, primarily governs Domestic Violence. In addition, and Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, which speaks of cruelty, is also relied on.

What does the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 say?   

The Act covers women who are or have been in a relationship with the abuser where both parties have lived together in a shared household and are related by consanguinity, marriage or a relationship in the nature of marriage, or adoption. It also includes relationships with family members living together as a joint family. Women who are sisters, widows, mothers, single women, living with the abuser are entitled to legal protection under the Act. It affirms a woman’s right to secure housing, and asserts the woman’s right to reside in the matrimonial or shared household. The Court is empowered to pass protection orders that prevent the abuser from aiding or committing an act of domestic violence. Domestic Violence is punishable with imprisonment for a term that may extend to one year with a fine, or both.

What does Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 say?   

Section 498-A deals with four kinds of cruelty by a husband or his family towards a married woman: conduct that is likely to drive a woman to suicide, conduct which is likely to cause grave injury to the life, limb or health of the woman, harassment with the purpose of forcing the woman or her relatives to give some property, or harassment because the woman or her relatives is unable to yield to demands for more money or does not give some property. The punishment is imprisonment for a term up to three years and a fine.