CW: SA, murder, terrible shit
Don’t know if you folks are aware but the conditions around the lack of safety for women in India is getting a lot of attention lately because a rape-murder case has generated major outcry because of the sheer brutality.
Following this aforementioned case, the media has begun to report more on cases of sexual violence against women and minor girls.
It is a very depressing situation because women are incredibly unsafe in the country but no one has any answers to fix this. Protests and activism try to find solutions within the existing political and economic framework which simply do not exist. The result is that this righteous anger materialises into screaming into the void until the energy dissipates. Some time passes and another terrible case happens again, after which the cycle repeats. In fact, there was a similar outcry against another horrific case some years ago the details of which are too tragic for me to repeat.
The ruling party, BJP, is well known for harboring and protecting rapists. This aforementioned high profile case, like the others of its kind, are merely being used by opportunistic poltical parties to sling shit at each other rather than trying to find a solution, not that it surprises me even a little bit. This current case for example has turned into a boxing match between BJP and TMC (Trinamool Congrees, West Bengal’s fascist ruling party) slandering (using this term very liberally) each other.
Times like serve as a sad reminder for me that I see no way out of the mire of reaction the country is bogged down in thanks to the political system that was “handed over” to us from the British. And I say this as an optimistic person.
Nevertheless I respect those who struggle.
I really feel like this will only get fixed after India tears itself apart. That the caste system, sexism, fascistic tendencies cannot change under the current conditions.
If this behavior is so engrained into a society that women cannot go anywhere without fear of being gang raped, possibly to death, then theres really no turning back until the whole system breaks apart. Like, how do you fix that? I doubt there is a “peaceful” solution.
The feminist movement is very weak in India. Even in it’s weakened state, it faces tremendous pushback from fascistic men’s right movements.
There are very few women in politics and power. The few that there are are opportunists espousing patriarchal nonsense. This goes for not just BJP, but for every major party including Congress and AAP. Mamata Banerjee, the leader of TMC and a woman, is on camera giving a speech to a large crowd where she blames victims of rape.
