Day 16: Regional Perspectives on Honour, Violence and Women's Rights: A Panel

The final day of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign Against Gender Violence was on Regional Perspectives on Honour, Violence and Women's Rights: A Panel Discussion. We closed with a panel that depicted how violence in the name of 'honour' transgresses borders. Here, pride takes the front seat, thereby justifying gruesome killings, often with the support of the state's machinery. 

Our facilitator of the session, Kiran Moghe, opened with how "the question of women's honour is tied up with the community and she represents the community/ collective honour, which has a bearing on her everyday life; she is subject to several kinds of restrictions on her basic freedom and on her basic right to life. These are very fundamental questions related to our existence as women."

Our first speaker, Jagmati Sangwan addressed the manner in which the state and its units have failed to address the brutality that is honour crimes, with a focus on the ground realities in Haryana. 

• "Usually common people around us take honour killings and honour crime as due to generational gap of ideas, parents losing control over their sons and daughters-in-law But our experience is that there has been a whole political economy attached to this issue. The political economy is to maintain the hierarchical social structures and cultural norms in the society. The control of female sexuality is crucial in patriarchal setups and hegemonic societies. If the women exert their choice in the issue of marriage, there is a seed of formation of an egalitarian society coming into existence as a result of these marriages. This concern, we feel, has been given the name of honour to control the sexuality of women. This is the crux of this issue."
• "The major distortions made here to punish these couples is by tampering the birth certificate and showing the couple as underage, and registering cases of kidnap and rape against boys. The human rights protection agencies have delayed and ineffective responses. The judiciary here doesn't take suo moto cognisance of such cases. Most social organisations and NGOs avoid speaking on such issues because they fear and targetting."
• "The nature of this violence, like dowry, is where one's own people get involved in crime and killing, maybe under huge social pressure. So, nobody comes out to register the case. The judicial system needs witnesses and proof of the crime. The onus has to be shifted on the criminal.

Watch Jagmati Sangwan's video here. 

Vincent Kathir, from Evidence, was our second speaker. He highlighted, through heart-wrenching anecdotes how the state, at various levels have failed to accurately report these crimes.

• "From my experience, honour crimes are the product of structural patriarchy, male chauvinism as well as caste."
• "In an RTI filed for the number of honour-related crimes show fifty-five cases of honour killings, but the Tamil Nadu government says there are only four cases in the last five years. Since 2005, when we started working on honour killings-related cases, [we have seen that] honour killings happen across the state and 60% of the time on women."
• "We tried to challenge every honour killings legally but we have succeeded in a few cases...We cannot expect the government to show interest that the families would. In some cases, families are hostile, and in some cases, they come to a compromise."
• "In my opinion, in the field, I have worked in human rights since 1995, and since 2000, I began working with honour-related crimes - this is a terrible and brutal form of murder. A few years back, the Supreme Court said that states should file an affidavit. Only twenty-two states accepted [that there is a presence of honour killings in the state], but till now the Tamil Nadu Government has not accepted that there are honour killings here. This is a dangerous situation.
• "In 2019, Madras High Court, in suo moto regarded our Evidence report on honour killings and then ordered the government to respond. Immediately, the state government responded in front of the High Court that all districts will have a protection cell formed for inter-caste couples. I verified this a month ago. Out of 38 districts, only 3 districts have formed the cell. The other 35 districts have not formed the protection cell."

Watch Vincent Kathir's presentation here.

The third speaker, Benazir Jatoi, highlighted the perspectives from Pakistan showing the commonality of this issue across borders.

• "You talk of caste, caste is the excuse used. We may not have an obvious caste system, but we use other words. We use religion. We use gairat, which roughly translates to honour. It is the socio-economic guise that we give on how we control women through violence and discrimination."
• "The irony in the whole situation is that we keep fixing the law till the situation is perfect. Every time a case of honour crime catches the public eye, the lawmakers perfect the law so that the loopholes identified by activists are closed. 
• What the laws failed to recognise, and laws are limited, the trial judge doesn't have that capacity, with all due respect, to separate honour from murder."
• "When we use the word honour, we, as activists have no other language. We use the language of our community. If we use honour before killing, we have already given them [the society] one justification to get away with it. Honour is a justification...so dishonour is perhaps the language we should walk towards. Because, we must take away that justification that is the stranglehold of all this."
• "In Pakistan, the Penal Code is intertwined with the Islamic law....we allow [for the existence of] certain Islamic laws which are forgiveness and compromise....Forgiveness is a very big part of religion. What they don't take into account is that forgiveness before the crime is also a very big part of religion. But, here once a crime is committed, forgiveness is invoked."
• "While we talk about violence against women and honour crimes, in particular, what we need to address is what is the relationship of women with the state. I feel, if there is a relationship with the state that women have, it is indirect. Women don't have a direct relationship with the state. If that relationship exists, it is weak, and that relationship is breaking down. When there is a weak and indirect relationship, things like COVID-19 has highlighted that anyone already discriminated against will be discriminated against further. Anyone prone to violence will be much more prone to violence."
• "We don't talk about sexuality [like the first speaker highlighted] enough but it comes down to that. Why do we fear sexuality so much? Why does patriarchy make us fear sexuality.? It starts from the control of sexuality. It is a box that we belong in. But, they tell us that we should exercise our sexuality because we should give birth, and give birth to many children.....but that sexuality is feared when we exercise it. It is different when someone else controls it. Sexuality needs to be viewed from the point of view of the global south."

Watch Benazir Jatoi's presentation here.

Our final speaker was Shalini Umachandran who highlighted the importance of sensitive reporting in cases of gender-based violence, especially honour crimes.

• "Very often, how the survivors or victims were affected as human beings are erased from the reports. We need to hear about how drastically their lives change and how shocking it is."
• "What we call honour killings is not just limited to patriarchy, gender, caste but also about personal choice. It is about a society that doesn't respect personal economic and political freedom. We need to widen our understanding and reporting so that all of this comes into it."
• "It is not just inter-religious or inter-caste. In India, it is about any two people from the same subgroup that isn't approved, and so they send clans."
• "It is this refusal to accept and understand the need for personal freedom which we see at a personal and family level; it is spread much wider. We see it in government policies, in the toxic bigotry we see in our daily life and on social media. It is not just a family issue."
• "Most underreporting is by the state and not the media or Civil Society Organisations. Journalists do cover these in detail and CSOs do a lot of reporting. In the last few years, it has become more detailed, careful and in most cases, a lot more sensitive. But we need to be mindful of how we speak, behave and the language we use in newsrooms when we speak with friends and our attitudes so that people can make their own decisions and don't have to follow archaic rules."
• Some of the Dos given by her were "If you're interviewing a survivor, make them comfortable. Get their consent before quoting them. You will go by their decisions on how much detail you will go into. It is possible to have a perfectly accurate report without being intrusive and causing more trauma to someone. Keep your tone empathetic and neutral. Keep the organisation that helped you get in touch with survivors about the progress of the story." while a couple of critical points to take note of are "Don't make promises because you know you can't keep them...Don't share contact details without permission."

Watch Shalini Umachandran's presentation here. 

Day 13: Reporting Gender Violence Against Persons With Disabilities: Media Training

On the 13th day of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign Against Gender Violence, The Network of Women in Media in India, Shanta Memorial Rehabilitation Centre, and Prajnya invited Dr. Aishwarya Rao to conduct a short training on how to report gender-based violence against people with disabilities, including themes of what is the appropriate language; what questions should be asked, and which ones avoided; and legal frameworks. Here are a few key discussion points from the session:

• "Over the years we have seen reporting on violence, particularly in the context of women with disabilities has improved. Almost every year, once in every ten days at least, a mainstream newspaper or news channel talks to either me or my colleague in the disability sector, or the other women with disabilities I work with. And definitely, the reporters come with a good amount of sensitization. And so, the stories that are reported definitely show more focus, better language - there is definitely a significant improvement. But more work needs to be done."
  
  
• "Though the scale of violence for persons with disabilities is high, especially for women with disabilities or persons who identify as women, coverage has seldom been adequate when you compare the extent of the problem."
  
  
• "There is no big violence and small violence. Every violence, every infringement of a right, every harm, every suffering that anybody goes through on account of simply being of a gender that is different from the dominant gender or the gender that has the upper hand - all these are worth reporting. But somehow we see sexual violence gets more eyeballs."

• "When journalists write or report instances of violence perpetrated on young women, other women, the minorities, sexual minorities or children with disabilities, here are some pointers that are important for us to keep in mind when such reports or stories are made:

1. To be accurate and use the right language

2. To get the survivor's voice out and to not victim blame

3. Talk to experts

4. Educate the public

5. Include information where survivors and families can get assistance"

• "Victims or survivors of violence, or persons upon whom violence ha been inflicted are many times portrayed as objects of pity. And, there is a great deal of stereotyping that happens. And, whether we like it or not, there is a great deal of disability voyeurism that happens."
  
  
• "Popular narrative, at least in regional languages when discussing disability and talking disability has always been cringe. Sometimes I wonder whether the language itself is inadequate in explaining the disability and in explaining the life of a person with a disability. 
  
  
  
  
  
• "There are some questions that are worth remembering to ask - 

How can I raise awareness?

Is the portrayal consistent with the respect for the person?

Name the disability and the vulnerability?

Link the issue to a larger overarching issue or a broad theme on the basis of which policy initiatives can be better informed."

• "When there is a confusion, use the word disability and it is okay, rather than impairment, special needs, deficit, because then we are going to the definition of disability. Disability is not defined as a characteristic of that person. So we don't look at locomotive disability as an impairment of that person. Disability itself is defined as an interaction between the person and the environment...Disability is about how a person with a disability interacts with the environment...Instead of using wheelchair-bound, use wheelchair user. Disabled is the most preferred by activists. Persons with a disability or PwD is always safe....the appropriate words to use are a person with a developmental disability, a person with an intellectual disability, intellectually/developmentally disabled, a person with mental health issues, or a person with so-and-so diagnosis. Don't use a person with autism, use autistic or neurodivergent. Don't use patient. Instead, refer to them by their name- so-and-so who has this particular condition. Always refer to the person with the name. Don't use mute, high-functioning, low-functioning - it is best to leave out the description of functioning. 'Special needs' is not okay, instead talk about reasonable accommodation or modifications. Never use sufferer, afflicted, stricken."
  

Dr. Rao has generously made her presentation available to us for reference. You can access it on Slideshare.

Day 12: Twitter Takeover by Nadika Nadja

 Originally scheduled on the 10th Day of the 16th Day Campaign Against Gender Violence by Prajnya, today, we had Nadika Nadja organize a Twitter Spaces on "Critiquing Exclusionary Feminism, Re-imagining Solidarity". A few of the discussion points are outlined below:

• A significant part of the discussion looked into this new idea of trans-exclusionary radical feminism (TERF) which is now resurfacing as 'gender-critical feminism' that only considers "biologically female women and men" as men and women thereby making feminist spaces exclusionary. We also had Ragamalika who mentioned how this one BBC article portrayed transwomen as assaulters of ciswomen and that they are basically men. The article also said that giving rights to transwomen takes rights away from ciswomen. Nadika responded to that saying there are a number of movements in the US and UK, and in parts of India about gender-critical feminism, which is replacing the term 'TERFS'. It gives the impression that transwomen are not women. Spaces must exist only for 'biologically female women'. There are a lot of people behind GC, especially British media because there are people like JK Rowling, for instance. You expect certain influential people to have a nuanced understanding and not be GCs. The article by BBC also quoted a survey that said transwomen forced cislesbians to have sex with them, however, the survey only consisted of GC folks. 
• This brings about a certain kind of dissonance in how we view solidarity, even in spaces that are queer-friendly and among ciswomen who are queer. The whole idea of the trans movement and the trans rights movement is that self-determination is the most important thing. People also say that we have to respect women and not reduce them to walking talking vaginas and wombs but at the same time reduce them to walking talking vaginas and wombs but at the same time in terms of trans people.
• Dr. S.Shakthi asked why there was a sudden uptake in the number of GC-related information. Nadika responded that there is a growing number of right-wing movements across the world. Like Judith Butler had mentioned, there exists a correlation between fascist ideas and authoritarian GC regimes.
• A lot of conversations by GCs and people who are somewhere there [can be categorised as GC], is that they believe one isn't a woman because they haven't had their periods. Raga spoke about how there is a reduction in the experience of womanhood and gender to just that one thing (periods). It seems to be a very convenient topic of discussion. That, if you haven't had your periods, you don't know what "we" go through. These statements also don't acknowledge that people assigned female at birth have different experiences. But, these experiences are all clubbed together based on whether an individual gets their periods and how painful it is. 
• One important thing is to look at where these exclusionary conversations start from. The easiest thing is to blame European colonialism where there is a cataloging and classification of everything. This leads to forming categories that are simple, wide-open but also, restrictive. That is where this idea of the biologically essentialist view comes from (on what defines one as a man and woman). Nadika sees colonialism and the early capitalist industrial revolution to be something that led to this exclusionary space. Because these periods are also tied to the idea of productivity - producing a child is important in a capitalist colonial society. Only one who can engage in productive and reproductive work is a woman, thereby excluding transwomen from the idea of woman and transmen from the idea of manhood.
• The idea of intersectional feminism (looking at factors like ethnicity, race, ableism, etc) is that they critique a certain kind of feminism practiced by white women who just want political rights. The exclusion comes from the perspective of who or what can be 'feminine' enough and whoever falls outside of these labels will not be included in the feminist movement. These ideas also exclude people who think they fall inside the boundaries because they don't adhere to the 'norms' prescribed by TERFs and GCs. 
• We also had listeners chip in about how there is a fear of loss of power and it is critical to address and tackle it by talking about the importance of accessibility to rights. Additionally, you also have the feminism portrayed by the popular culture where privileged people (or, even, cis people acting as trans folks on-screen) which is worshiped. 
• The discussion also spoke about how sports views trans folks, about the debate around college hostels being gender-neutral and on toilets being gender-neutral.
• We talk about building solidarity, but with all these differences, where do you see solidarity coming from? What are the things we can do to build solidarity? Where do we start building this idea of solidarity from?
• The listeners responded that there are quite a few ways, they believe, helps strengthen solidarity, and reimagine movements - passing the mic and giving space to people who are marginalized, being open to unlearning and taking responsibility as well as understanding that it is essential to have uncomfortable conversations with people who have similar privileges as you. Empathy and kindness are also very important here.
• Nadika and Raga also highlighted that when we talk of marginalised folks joining various spaces to talk about their experiences, there is a lot of labour that is put in to explain where a person is coming from. There is enough knowledge and information on the internet to understand this. Additionally, there is also a perceived power difference in the space someone else is organising. 
• We also had with us Nidhi who spoke about how it is necessary to understand the ways in which ableism affects persons with disabilities. It is important to see if we can think about bodies and minds that work differently, but also that it is not something we can accommodate just by being nice. One must actively see it structurally rather than just as something each of us can do to make it okay.
• The concluding remarks were that a lot of feminists, feminist organizations and institutions grapple with understanding intersectionality and queer issues. Grassroots feminist organizations must actively take steps to ensure their actions are inclusive. We have made it a fight of power rather than a fight of rights, and a fight for equality. It almost seems like there is a queue to fight for your rights. The fight isn't a token system. People must step out of their own bubbles, and not just focus on their own struggles and have to start listening.

Day 8: Making Public Spaces LGBTQI+ Inclusive: A Roundtable

On the 8th day of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign against Gender Violence, Prajnya, along with Orinam, had a roundtable discussion with members from the LGBTQIA+ community, media persons, policy-makers, and other important stakeholders/practitioners who gave a number of important inputs on making public spaces more LGBTQIA+ inclusive. The session was moderated by Dr. Ramakrishnan (he/they) and had Harish Subramanian (he/him), Ar.Muhilann Murugan (they/them), Natasha (she/they), Raj Cherubal, Sonal Shah, and Shreya, who gave us their perspectives on accessibility and inclusivity in public spaces.

The opening statements of the discussion were on how public spaces in Chennai don't just include beaches and parks but also comprise libraries, public restrooms, museums, government-run healthcare facilities, places of worship as well as transportation facilities. However, for the queer community, these spaces are getting increasingly surveilled and hostile for anyone who does not conform to gender norms. Additionally, when we talk of public spaces, it is essential to talk about shelters as well. There are shelters for those who are homeless; a lot of queer people face homelessness but have very few places to stay. 

"There is intersectionality when it comes to safe spaces. Spaces can be safe. But for whom, and where?"

This powerful opening line resonates with the lived realities of LGBTQIA+ folks. This makes it critical to navigate how spaces can be safe. As a collective, a city or a state, it must stand for something, either through colours and murals, or through history and identity. We all access the same public spaces, but what is 'safe' for one doesn't necessarily translate into 'safe' for another. A city, should hence, allow its citizens to welcome people. It shouldn't be designed to make spaces exclusive, but should instead practice affirmative action like making queer stories a part of the city's history. The city needs queer folks; it needs to give space for communities to gather and talk about things. But also, it shouldn't keep queer folks away from having conversations. An instance that was cited is that hospitals could allow queer people to talk about STDs, STIs or one's sexual health; one need not be queer to know about the same. For this, cities must be inclusive, and that can happen only if there is a queering of cities. The city needs queerness. 

Even small steps will go a long way in making cities queer. A very important way to do that is to work on queer-friendly spaces, especially for toilets. Most public toilets have signages of 'male' and 'female'. How is that gender-inclusive? Why aren't people taking such (important) but small actions to make spaces inclusive? Another way of addressing this issue is by creating spaces for queer folks to discuss safely. Madras has two important beaches - Marina and Besant Nagar. However, in Marina, one cannot stay past 9 PM and the lighting is very poor. It is open throughout the day and night and a sense of 'belonging' is not really present there. Folks have to face the judgment of the police and other people who adhere to cis-heteronormative ideals. In contrast, Besant Nagar is a smaller space with lighting but is not open throughout the day. Marina is important for queer folks, in particular, because homes aren't safe spaces for all. So, there is a dependency on public spaces. Making public spaces queer-friendly is just a small step to make us feel like we aren't invisible; we are heard and we are seen.

But, to navigate through this, it is important to break down what inclusivity in public spaces is all about? Is it just about working on inclusive spaces for queer folks, or for anyone from the marginalised community? When you work on making public spaces accessible for the queer or trans folks, you are not just making spaces accessible for the most marginalised identity, but for everyone else - that is how policies must be seen. It is also a reality that currently there is no visibility for folks from the LGBTQI+ community. Most representations, with a few exceptions, adhere to cis-heteronormative ideals; there is a glorification of brahmin upper-caste histories, with a sequential and simultaneous erasure of queer lives. A few simple ways to pass the mic to queer folks is by making them engage in the processes of development of the city - painting murals, giving them livelihood opportunities, setting up signboards that talk of queer lives, or something as simple as having an LGBTQIA+ flag in public spaces. There needs to be an immediate and increased focus by the government to help queer folks reclaim public spaces through sensitisation of employees as well.

The voices of the queer community were met with an openness to take this dialogue further by various stakeholders who engaged in the roundtable. They stressed how public spaces and its design can be seen as a metaphorical 'colour picture'. There must be initiatives and affirmative action taken by the State to showcase, focus and highlight different arts and music in order to make spaces safe, and spread awareness. While listing the many ways of making spaces safe, accessible, and inclusive can be done at ease, engaging with those in power is a difficult process. One of the reasons for this is that decision-makers often come with heteronormative conditioning; it takes a lot of negotiating to work on inclusive infrastructure that is accessible to all. To add to this is the limitation of lack of literature and research on the accessibility of queer folks to public spaces and public transportation. An important point that was mentioned is that queer folks must be at the centre of these decisions. Whether public spaces can work or not is something that requires inputs from the community. Because this doesn't just increase visibility but also tells us whether the public spaces are working.

The audience raised a number of perspectives, experiences, and opinions on the discussion. They highlighted how the decision-makers often view the end-users to be an upper-caste, upper-class man, while other groups have to adjust. This can be overcome only if one listens to the community and builds a coalition with the end-users and the local government. Because, on paper, quite a few policies with their global and fancy terminologies appear inclusive, but if there is no implementation plan in place, the fancy terms mean nothing. The discussion circled back on the importance and necessity to make public spaces inclusive for the marginalised. 

The discussion closed with what was considered a top priority to make public spaces accessible, safe and inclusive. For this, it is essential to break down what we understand as inclusive space. How do we make people know that queer folks are not invisible? There is a common notion that LGBTQIA+ folks are sexual deviants and only talk about sex work. These problematic notions exist because of the erasure of queer lives. We must also push for conversations on queerness and on raising visibility. It is also essential to understand that marginalisation and violence are systemic, with intersections of caste, class, gender, sexual orientation, romantic orientation, to name a few.

Day 12: Does Marriage Mean Consent?: A Panel

    On the 12th day of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign Against Gender Violence, we had a panel on 'Does Marriage Mean Consent?' with Jhuma Sen, lawyer and Audrey D'mello, Majlis to examine marital rape, law, and lived realities. The session was facilitated by Dr. S. Shakthi and we also had Prof. Saumya Uma join us as a discussant. You can watch the recording on our Facebook page and Youtube Channel.

clockwise [L-R]: Dr. S. Shakthi, Dr. Saumya Uma, Audrey D'Mello and Prof. Jhuma Sen.

The panel discussion began with Audrey D'Mello giving us her insight on the topic. She touched upon the realities of survivors of marital rape and on gaps from a legal perspective.

• "Why is marital rape not a crime in this country? And, my answer is marital rape is very much a crime in this country. It is not true that men can rape their wives. We have laws to deal with this... but it is true that it is not included in Section 376. However, in 1983, we, very clearly, got a law on Cruelty to wives which is covered in section 498A of the IPC."
• "In over 90% cases or more, the women mostly articulate this need that they are not being maintained; they are not receiving money from their husbands; they have been denied money from their husbands for their survival and that of that their children."
• "While women will describe in detail stories about violence - physical violence, physical abuse, beating (with hand and with objects), verbal abuse, and emotional abuse, they are very hesitant to talk about sexual abuse. And, it is very difficult to describe that incident in the same manner, and so, they don't talk about it till you draw it out from them. Even while they talk about it, the whole focus is on (seeking) relief."
• "When women have to kind of narrate those incidents of rape, it is extremely traumatic for them to describe it, and for the police when they are recording. That's why we know why so many women refuse to speak about it. Because of mandatory reporting, these cases are out there.....the whole journey of rape cases has led to a situation where the more high profile a case is, the more stringent is the punishment demanded. But, the more stringent the punishment is, the more difficult it is to get people to report."
• "Are we saying that [in terms of punishment] rape in a domestic violence situation is on a higher ground in comparison to other forms of violence like breaking one's head, starvation, physical abuse, etc? Are we putting rape on a pedestal in a situation of domestic violence? This, I feel, is problematic in more ways than one. If I have to take only sexual abuse in a marital context, denying sex is as much an abuse as forcefully having sex."
• "What we need is to look and re-look at section 498A. and bring more clarity into the definitions of sec 498A. Put out the different crimes that happen in a domestic relationship....let all crimes of domestic violence reach that level of stringent punishment. In domestic violence, all kinds of violence are interlinked. All kinds of violence are all there together, interplaying. We need to look at it as a whole."

Watch Audrey D'Mello's presentation here. 

Prof. Jhuma Sen, our second speaker traced the historical trajectory of marital rape laws in India and on the various perspectives and perceptions given by the judiciary on marital rape in India. 

• "If one looks at the common law jurisdictions and the very, very infamous words of Matthew Hale, he had noted that a husband cannot be guilty of rape committed upon his lawful wife because of mutual contract...there is this notion of continuity of a form of consent that cannot be retracted."
• "If one looks at the Justice Verma Committee which has given a comprehensive piece on sexual violence, they had stated that marital rape stems from an extremely outdated notion of marriage which deals with wives as property of husbands. ....it states that the existence of a marital relationship is not a valid reason for sexual violence committed in course of a marital relationship"
• "Marital rape has come before the court on a number of occasions. If you look at colonial history, from Phulmoni Dasi, marital rape has triggered the age of consent debate..... the idea of consent debate, in colonial times, was about consent to have sex as long as you are not dead. It was understood in your physical ability to have sex and not die. The Phulmoni Dasi and Rukhmabai are the two cases that triggered the age of consent debate, and the passage of the age of consent act."
• "I am very uncomfortable with the idea of criminalization, to some extent......even if one criminalizes marital rape, will that make women come forward and talk about it?"
• ".....the language of Frankensteinian Monster, Legal Terrorism, etc has pervaded legal discourses and gone to the public arena, men's rights groups and they have invited these legal Delhi HC judges as keynote speakers. It is a give-and-take industry that continues to happen."
• "What does false complaint in law look like? There is a very evidential category...It is not always the case that everything can be proved. To prove something, you need a lot of other things. In the context of matrimonial dispute that is happening in the four walls of a home, you may not necessarily have a third party to witness it... We need to understand and talk about law a little more and understand that not proved and disproved categories are conflated...If it is not proved, it doesn't mean it is disproved and it doesn't mean automatically that it is a false case. What is the definition of false? Is there a legal definition of false in the IPC?"

Watch Jhuma Sen's presentation here. 

Our discussant, Dr. Saumya Uma took over and responded to the points made by the panelists Jhuma Sen and Audrey D'Mello.

• "During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a high prevalence of domestic violence but marital rape has not been recognized. it is not a special provision on which the NCRB gathers data. So, we don't really know what is the data that is available."
• "The feminist demand in India has no unanimous position. But, I want to go back on what Jhuma ended her presentation with. Which is, to withdraw the exceptions of rape [between married and unmarried women]. Because, if you don't remove that exception, women's consent to sexual intimacy is irrelevant within marriage."
• "We are at a stage of hyper criminalization and further criminalization may only strengthen the arm of the state. In the current political context of India, it is a big question mark on whether we want to further criminalize marital rape or not. 
• Over the last 15-20 years, even though 498A is a significant provision that was brought in, and to me, one of the main aspects of significance was that it was a significant statement the law was making that, what happens within the home is not something law will not intervene in. 498A, and then the Domestic Violence Act show very clearly that law does have a role to play whenever there is violence, even within the privacy of the four walls of the home."
• "Are we putting marital rape on a pedestal by criminalizing only marital rape and not other forms of sexual violence that deprive women of sex and so on? What is being argued here is not necessarily about criminalizing marital rape, but about removing exceptions to Marital Rape."
• "Some of the challenges we are facing to criminalizing marital rape - one is the legal challenge is to actually remove it like Justice Verma Committee suggested. Next is the social challenge where women internalize and accept marital rape. It is internalized patriarchy. Not just among men who think they can force themselves on their wives, but also among women who will accept and internalize it, and not even call it rape... it is a normalized form of violence among men and an internalized form of violence among wives. Leading to this is a political challenge; we see a lack of political will. We see that the state is not interested. We see that the parliamentary debate has been about we have a social and cultural milieu and marital rape provision will disrupt it. I would think in addition to legal challenges, we need to look at social and political challenges."

We also had the audience talk about how rape is considered the worst offense possible so much so that any other form of violence is "lesser than" rape, somewhere placing violence in a hierarchical structure. The question of false cases was also discussed and about the role of consent in navigating through the topic of discussion.

Watch the full panel video here. 

Day 10: Everyday Sexism: Instagram Live

 In conversation with Prajnya volunteer Shweta Sharma, we had Maryam Nayaz, our programme associate and Niroopini Muralidharan, our campaign volunteer discuss the everydayness of sexism that all women and gender minorities are subjected to because of their gender identity. You can watch the saved recording of the Instagram Live here!

"Since our birth, we are subjected to sexism. Sexism starts before the girl is born, like female foeticide for instance."

The discussion began with how girls are not allowed to pursue higher education opportunities because she has to go to another house after a point. Women never belong to one place; the house she grows up in isn't hers, and neither is the house she resides in after marriage. Shweta broadened on this topic and asked "which, then, is her house?". She also discussed her experiences with men who believe they have greater power and autonomy over women that it justifies "asking for favours" if women wish to take huge leaps in life. Shweta stressed that she believes men should not try taking advantage of women because they think they are 'weak'.

The discussion moved to how, despite receiving higher education, the end goal always is to get the daughter married. So, parents keep pushing for the daughters to join places like VLCC to work on their "physical beauty". At the end of the day, marriage goes hand-in-hand with looks, beauty and physical features. Additionally, the bride's side of the family is even willing to "pay money" in the form of dowry to get their daughter married. 

The participants of the Instagram live also discussed their experiences and spoke of how gender norms box us into how we must act and behave in the society; there is no space for gender beyond the binary. Maryam added to the discussion on how the brunt of sexism is borne by women and gender minorities because we seem to live in a "man's world". The discussion also spoke of sexism against women working in informal sectors, especially in the domestic sphere, where men sexually exploit them. The intersections of caste and class further add to the marginalisation.

 Shweta concluded the discussions by mentioning that the presence of NGOs and CSOs that work in the field of rights has given her immense strength. The importance of sex education, discussing good-touch and bad-touch, and consent was also spoken about.

The one-hour long discussion gave the audience a lot of insight on how conversations like these (where we discuss the injustices, microaggressions and sexist attitudes we face on a daily basis) can help instil a sense of solidarity and togetherness - that we aren't alone and we aren't in the wrong.

Day 9: Safe Workplaces: A Status of Compliance Survey Report launch

The Safe Workplaces: A Status of Compliance Survey Report was launched on 4th December, 2021 on the 9th Day of the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign against Gender Violence. It is formulated with the focus sectors being IT, ITES, BPO, KPO, R&D. The report compiled by Prajnya has helped in giving one a better sense of understanding with respect to what constitutes a safe workplace, the compliance support undertaken by the focus sectors, and its impact. The survey for the report was undertaken by Prajnya volunteers Priithy Appandarajan and Subhashini Raju, with assistance from Ojasvi Vyas and Maryam Nayaz. Here's a sneak peek report that highlights the realities of workplaces. Click here to read more!

On December 3, the authors of the report presented its main findings to a small group. 

"Prajnya’s work in the area of creating safe workplaces begins with compliance support but forms part of its foundational commitment to gender equality and human rights—including the rights to life, to dignified work, and to equality, which both the Vishakha Guidelines of 1997 and the 2013 Act acknowledge as being at the heart of this issue."

• "Policy: 93% of companies had workplace sexual harassment prevention policies, and most of them introduced these at the point of induction. Almost everyone used multiple ways of communicating the policy to employees, including posters and reminders."
• "Reporting Requirement: Awareness about reporting requirements was relatively low, with 33% unsure about them. Those who said they had reported as required appear to have chosen contradictory options when asked what they reported, and breaches of confidentiality seem common. "
• "Asked about innovations they were proud of, most respondents pointed not towards compliance specifics but elements in the creation of an inclusive, equal organizational culture. "
• "We had included contradictory choices with regard to how complaints are listed in a report—the number and details; anonymized complaints with just receipt and closure information, and reporting with identifying details. Not only is it alarming that six out of the 14 who responded substantively to this question [elements included in the report] said that they included identifying details in the public report, but it is also alarming that half of them picked all three. This shows a lack of understanding, and perhaps design flaws in our survey, but also that companies can be casual about a breach of confidentiality." 

The report also outlines awareness on Company Policy on Workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention and Redressal, functioning of the Internal Committee, Complaint procedures, awareness training, reporting requirement, as well as workplace culture and awareness. 

Day 7: The Challenges of Gender Violence Research: A Panel

The data on gender violence, both qualitative and quantitative, are still hard to come by. This is because such data is hard to collect; that is to say, research on sexual and gender-based violence is a challenging undertaking. A panel of experienced researchers and practitioners from fields as diverse as anthropology, geography, law, and politics discuss those challenges. 

Today, we had with us Dr. Philippa Williams (Queen Mary University of London); Dr. Shazia Choudhry (Oxford University); Dr. Preeti Karmarkar (Nari Samata Manch); Dr. Girija Godbole (IIT Mumbai); Dr. Ruchira Goswami (National University of Juridical Sciences); Dr. Nandini Ghosh (Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata).

The audience focussed on questions pertaining to defining violence in accordance with the survivor's notion, the absence/presence of family, navigating through consent, and on the usage of trigger words. You may find the recording on our Facebook page or our Youtube Channel.

Dr. Philippa Williams spoke first on the challenges of gender violence research. She covered briefly the critical aspects of the same by compiling it under 5 key sub-headings.

• Know your research context.
• What's the research problem, what questions do you want to answer?
• What methods can you use to answer your research question? 
• How will you collect, analyze and write up your data?
• What will you do with the research, how can it benefit different groups?

Dr. Shazia Choudhry, our next speaker, focussed on the research ethics framework. Under this, she covered the importance of confidentiality, risk assessment, and safeguarding oneself.

• 
  "Recognising that you may experience secondary trauma as a result of this trauma, is important. A quick way of dealing with that is to participate in a quick debriefing with your team where you talk about what came out of that abuse, and if necessary consider individual counseling."
• "It is also important to end the interview on a note that emphasizes a woman's strengths, to try to minimize distress....you have to remember that they have never had someone say that this is unacceptable, whatever has happened is not right and no one should be treated that way; to say that shows you have been heard, seen and you have made some contribution."
• "If you are not going to add anything to the literature, why put the women through those interviews? And, if you are doing the research, it has to be done in an ethical way. It can be empowering for women to participate in the interviews. It is important and really, really difficult for the respondents to trust you. So, it is essential to approach the survivor in an ethical way."

Our next speaker, Dr. Preeti Karmarkar, looked into the Do's and Dont's while interacting with survivors, especially those who have undergone violence and on navigating difficult questions.

Some of the Do's that she gave the audience a perspective on covered explaining the purpose, ensuring the survivor is comfortable and assuring confidentiality. The Dont's looked into topics of interruption, judgemental statements, and offensive tones, to name a few.

• "Talking about trauma is again a trauma. If the interviewee gets tired, ensure you take a small break with snacks and tea. Keep tissue papers ready."
• "What if the respondent refuses to talk, or weeps during the process? We need to be calm and give them enough space to get comfortable...if the respondent refuses to talk, accept their emotional disturbance, assure them of confidentiality, clarify her doubts and accept her decision [to proceed or not proceed with the interview]."
• "Survivors see privacy in terms of their safety. That is their concern. Rather than [viewing it as] privacy, it is about their safety."

Our fourth speaker, Dr. Girija Godbole, spoke about looking after oneself as a researcher and dealing with difficult questions.

• "Researching sensitive topics can be traumatic for the researchers and the researched participants."
• "We also need to remember that the relationship [between the researcher and the participant] is inherently artificial and it is basically to get high-quality usable data and relationship is temporary in nature..... how much ever training or guidance one gets before the research, it cannot prepare us for all the eventualities."
• "It is also important to remember that we know domestic violence is a serious domestic problem. But knowing something and confronting something with data is different, so the impact will be different."
• She also suggested a few ways for the researchers to work on their emotions. This included having a regular, structured, critical reflection that helps one understand their position as a researcher. She said, "it is important to maintain relational boundaries and is useful for the existing researcher relationship." She also highlighted journaling or diary keeping to be a useful way to look at the research in a detached manner to a certain extent and this can help one develop a deeper understanding of the incident and the emotional impact of the same.

Dr. Ruchira Goswami spoke next and highlighted the legal aspect of the research on Gender violence and data collection.

• "Legal research, even if it is around social and economic issues, research is largely based on case laws, legal commentaries, etc. That's why in India, socio-legal research where you go in the field and conduct qualitative research is less done. Within that, in sensitive areas, researching on violence against women is extremely difficult. This is because it might trigger trauma in the respondent. But, doing it in a legal research framework, I think, is more challenging."
• "The case laws of higher courts are available [AIR or supreme court]. But if one wants to conduct research on domestic violence victims in trial court....you will see case laws are not updated electronically for all trial courts in all the states. Therefore it will be very difficult to conduct research on any of these sensitive issues in trial courts."
• "Sometimes, you have to take out the real critical part of it, make it sound a little less critical, and say little nice things. When you are critiquing the administrative system and the judicial system, the possibilities of facing the ire of the state is very high."
• "A lot of legal research is conducted using case laws, etc, and much less on what survivors are facing. But, perhaps there is no research, and I will be happy to stand corrected, on the lives of survivors post-trial."
• "Socio-legal research focuses more on illegalities, bottlenecks in the system....there is much less research on how respondents make sense of the system, a process we call hermeneutics....those kinds of work are just beginning to happen in India, but we need more and more work in sensitive areas around violence against women which will talk about longitudinal research and move beyond illegalities and bottlenecks in the system."
• "We should keep in mind what the additional ethical safeguards are when we are talking to children, we must keep that in mind. But having a parent during the interviewee is problematic because that would definitely influence the responses of the child....we have to, as interviewers, figure out if this is going to make the life of the child far more difficult. One way is to go through organizations and institutions that work with children directly, and speak to them on whether it is okay to speak to children."

Our last speaker, Dr. Nandini Ghosh, gave us a perspective on the barriers that exist in conducting gender violence research.

• "Feminist scholars, despite the lack of funding, have devised innovating ways of highlighting gender violence research, the public, and the private forms and how this violence is impacting lives of women across the country."
• "There is a problem of state-funded research which is that it is bound by time; you have one year to complete the research or three months to finish a report, which doesn't help explore the extent of gender violence that women might be facing."
• "The kind of permissions and protocols that you are required to follow when you undertake the research is a problem. When you want to do legal research or domestic violence research, we want to talk to the stakeholders who are responsible for rolling out acts and legislation. We want to approach them but we find ourselves coming up with barriers by the organization and by the individual, and they ask us to get permission from the state....there is a kind of avoidance of what the findings are gonna reveal of state of implementation of policies, programmes, etc."
• "What is clearly evident is that there is no spirit of collaboration.....there is also the tendency to say we have done enough and there is nothing more we can do.....there is a refusal to acknowledge their own shortcomings and there is a reluctance to take remedial action." 

You can watch the panel video here. 

Day 5: Twitter Takeover: "Contraceptive Violence" || @Archytypes

  On November, 29th, 2021, from 4 PM to 6 PM [IST], we had Archanaa Sekar (@Archytypes) join us to tweet about 'contraceptive violence':

Today, I (@Archytypes) am taking over this account to discuss ‘Contraceptive Violence’ as part of #Prajnya16Days of #NoSGBV (29/11/2021, 4:00PM) 

Contraception 101: A thread for #Prajnya16Days of #NoSGBV (29/11/2021, 4:00PM)

Contraception commonly referred to as Birth Control, is simply a way to prevent pregnancy. There are many methods of contraception, some more effective than others, some more accessible than others and some that suit a user better than others. #Prajnya16Days #NoSGBV (29/11/2021, 4:01PM)

#Contraception/Birth Control is actively promoted by governments, especially those of developing countries as a means of population control under #FamilyPlanning schemes. #India is the first country in the world to have launched a National Programme for Family Planning (1952) (29/11/2021, 4:06PM) 

Is #Contraception a human rights issue? YES IT IS. In The 2012 UNFPA report declares that contraception is a human right. “By Choice, Not Chance,’ goes on to stress that family planning is “universally recognised as an intrinsic right, affirmed and upheld by many other rights.” (29/11/2021, 4:10PM) 

The 2014 UN ONCHR report Reproductive Rights Are Human Rights - A Handbook For National Human Rights Institutions states that “Everyone should have access to contraception and the necessary information should also be available to marginalised groups” #Prajnya16Days (29/11/2021, 4:19PM).

"Ensuring access for all people to their preferred contraceptive methods advances several human rights including the right to life and liberty, freedom of opinion and expression and the right to work and education, as well as bringing significant health and other benefits." @WHO (29/11/2021, 4:28PM)

"Use of contraception prevents pregnancy-related health risks for women, especially for adolescent girls..." @WHO on contraception #Prajnya16Days (29/11/2021, 4:34PM)

"..., and when births are separated by less than two years, the infant mortality rate is 45% higher than it is when births are 2-3 years apart and 60% higher than it is when births are four or more years apart." @WHO  #TalkingContraception for #Prajnya16Days of #NoSGBV (29/11/2021, 4:35PM)

A user accessing contraception is making a choice about their body. When it is #MyBodyMyChoice to ensure that a pregnancy is #ByChoiceNotChance, it is just another way of saying Contraception is a #feminist issue. (29/11/2021, 4:38PM) 

 The Reality (@WHO 2017): 23 million adolescents have an unmet need for modern contraception and are thus at elevated risk of unintended pregnancy. 214 million women of reproductive age in developing regions who want to avoid pregnancy are not using a modern contraceptive method. (29/11/2021, 4:45PM)

This is contraceptive violence: When a person who needs contraception is unable to access it because of educational, financial and every other systemic barrier there is or because of the stigma attached to being sexually active, or making choices about one's own body. #16Days (29/11/2021, 4:59PM)

Why must we talk about contraceptive violence? Because it denies access and choice to users who are not cis-het men. Why must we talk about it now? Because it is sex and gender based violence. #Prajnya16Days #NoSGBV (29/22/2021, 5:05PM)

 

What People have to say about #Contraception: A Thread (Crowd sourced if you add to this!) (29/11/2021, 5:06PM)

“Many of us were the unplanned children of talented, creative women whose lives had been changed by unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. We witnessed their bitterness,..." (1/2) (29/11/2021, 5:09PM) 

"...their rage, their disappointment with their lot in life and we were clear that there could be no genuine sexual liberation for women and men without better, safer contraceptives, without the right to a safe, legal abortion.” - Bell Hooks (29/11/2021, 5:09PM)

“The technology exists for a male contraceptive pill. We have the drugs to switch off testosterone and prevent sperm production. These drugs have never gone to market because developers know that men would never take something like that..." (1/2) (29/11/2021, 5:11PM)

"...Men would never agree to switch off their hormones. They would never put up with the side effects such as depression and low libido. And, honestly, why should they put up with it? Why should women?”- Lara Briden #Prajnya16Days #NoSGBV (29/11/2021, 5:12PM)

“Mainly because as women’s education increases all around the planet, we find that family size tends to drop.” — Jane Goodall (29/11/2021, 5:13PM)

“China had managed to reduce their fertility to a large extent because of basic expansion of women’s education, not because of the one-child family.” — Amartya Sen (29/11/2021, 5:14PM)

 “The fact that 98 percent of women in [the U.S.] who are sexually experienced say they use birth control doesn’t make sex any less sacred. It just means that they’re getting to make choices about their lives.” — Melinda Gates (29/11/2021, 5:15PM)

“Contraceptive protection is something every woman must have access to, to control her own destiny.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg (29/11/2021, 5:15PM) 

“I would think that if you understood what sex education is, you would get down on your knees and worship a condom.” — Jane Fonda (29/11/2021, 5:16PM) 

"No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother." - Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood (29/11/2021, 5:21PM) 

“If men had to bear the pangs which women have to undergo during childbirth none of them would even consent to bear more than a single child in his life.” - Dr. Ambedkar on 10 November 1938 to the Bombay Legislative Assembly, (29/11/2021, 5:26PM)

 

#Contraception - So much to learn: A thread #Prajnya16Days #NoSGBV (29/11/2021, 5:34PM)

There are many methods of contraception (https://who.int/health-topics/contraception#tab=tab_3) and the NHS website lists 15 of them - https://nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/what-is-contraception/ #Prajnya16Days #TalkingContraception #NoSGBV (29/11/2021, 5:37PM)

In India, Birth Control falls under the National Health Mission's Family Planning Programme overseen by the @MoHFW_INDIA. Contraceptive services under the National Family Welfare Programme are categorised into Spacing, Permanent and Emergency Methods (https://main.mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/56324455632156323214.pdf) (29/11/2021, 5:43PM)

With service provision happening through Providers (ASHAs, ANMs, LHVs, SNs, and doctors) at various levels of the public health system including home delivery of oral contraceptive pills, the oldest family planning programme in the world continues to show results. (29/11/2021, 5:50PM)

But when contraception services are provided solely from the population control angle, it is 1. The state taking charge of who can make what choices - this is assuming all women want children, must have at least one child, and should stop when it's too many for the state. (29/11/2021, 5:53PM) 

2. not acknowledging that contraception, beyond saying "Enough Babies", is really for "Do I want one? Do I want one now?" and this medical/programme model of contraception takes away from the bodily autonomy of a user, also stigmatising those who do not want to/cannot be mothers. (29/11/2021, 5:57PM)

Birth control is a human rights issue. How great would it be if a well-oiled, efficiently set up system can see it as one? #TalkingContraception #Prajnya16Days #NoSGBV (29/11/2021, 6:01PM)

"Contraceptive use among married women (aged 15-49 years) was 56.3% in NFHS-3 (an increase of 8.1 percentage points from NFHS-2)," states this report: https://main.mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/56324455632156323214.pdf. But everybody married or not, with a child or not must be accounted for. (29/11/2021, 6:05PM)

Not ensuring information and access is available to anyone who may need contraception is violence. Not speaking about it erases the experiences of many millions of women. (29/11/2021, 6:10PM)

We are a society on blinkers when we 1. Deny that young people who are sexually active and exploring their bodies 2. Dismiss the need for contraceptives and quality sex-ed as a made up/privileged/elite/urban and indulge in whataboutery #Contraception #Prajnya16Days (29/11/2021, 6:20PM) 

As we keep silent and cut off access to information for young people in the name of honour, dignity, culture, we are only raising another generation of citizens that are poorly-informed, poorly-resourced, and unable to understand or make choices about their bodies. #Contraception (29/11/2021, 6:24PM)

 

I, @Archytypes, can attest to the following: Young people are having sex. Everyday half a dozen people reach out to me with questions on consent, contraception and sex. These young sexually active people are from all over Tamil Nadu, and sometimes from other parts of the country. (29/11/2021, 6:29PM)

I usually begin by asking if they used a condom. In most cases the reply is No. Each time I feel like running to a rooftop and yelling: "A CONDOM CAN PREVENT A PREGNANCY BUT IT CAN ALSO PREVENT STI's. WHATEVER OTHER METHOD OF CONTRACEPTION YOU ARE USING, ALSO USE A CONDOM." (29/11/2021, 6:34PM)

"Will I bleed as soon as a take an Emergency Contraceptive Pill?" is the most popular question AFTER "Where can I find an ECP?" (and mind you, requests for these come from towns and villages a good 45-90 mins away from the cities of TN). (29/11/2021, 6:38PM) 

I share this to reiterate how little information is available to people and because dozens of people create twitter accounts to communicate with me, a stranger on the internet because there is so much shame and stigma surrounding sex. #Contraception #Prajnya16Days #NoSGBV (29/11/2021, 6:40PM)

#Contraception is a #health, #humanright and #feminist issue. The state needs to look beyond family planning and make way for quality sex education, spaces where sex can be discussed without shame, non-judgemental healthcare. (29/11/2021, 6:48PM)

Till @MoHFW_INDIA, all associated central and state agencies recognise contraception as a #mybodymychoice method, “By Choice, Not Chance" will be a dream. #TalkingContraception #Prajnya16Days #NoSGBV (29/11/2021, 6:52PM)

While we work and wait for that dream to come true, I (@Archytypes) and many of my friends on the internet are here for you, whether it is to answer questions/provide support in accessing #contraception (emergency, long term)/dealing with #unwanted pregnancies. #16Days #NoSGBV (29/11/2021, 6:54PM)

I took over this account to talk about #contraception for #prajnya16days. I said a little, but there is so much more (forced contraception, #abortions, consent, big pharma, #SRHR) to think/talk about. I must sign off now, but you can reach out on my account (@Archytypes) anytime! (29/11/2021, 7:11PM)