They have banned it. But most have seen it. The person who raped and brutally killed a young girl talking about it. He blames the girl for it, and justifies his actions. Unbelievably objectionable.
The foreigner who made this nauseating thing calls it an illuminating insight into the patriarchal male dominated Indian mindset. Really?
When you look at the dominant media memes and public perception, certain trends emerge as ‘the consensus’.
-Rape is basically a consequence of a male dominated patriarchal society. Men are conditioned to rape in conventional societies.
-Men rape to subjugate and ‘Teach a lesson’ to liberated girls.
-So, it is more common in countries like India.
-Rape is not about sex, but about violence and exercise of power.
Can we discuss the truth about these? Or are these holy cows- if you will pardon the loaded expression?
You can either study something like rape with a logical and evidence based mindset, so that we can try to prevent it, or we can rant emotionally and blabber about patriarchy and liberation and generally just jump about. The choice is ours.
The assertion that violent rape is commoner in India and less common in liberated equal societies is pure bull. Murder, torture, violence, brutal rape and type casting and subjugation of minorities have been there in every society. In some countries due to affordability, better crime prevention systems may have helped somewhat. When you talk about rape, it is present in any society or tribe studied till date. It is a human universal- just like murder, war and genocide.
So is there something inherent in the nature of some men to rape women?
Look at the facts. Men want sex. Women want to give it selectively- very selectively. She wants somebody who will stick around. Pregnancy and parenthood has enormous costs to a woman. Men have no costs if he doesn’t stick around. Only the gain that he can spread his genes.
Men woo, seduce, manipulate, beg, and sometimes buy sex. So, it is not surprising that criminals, psychopaths and conscienceless men may try and get it by force.
Looking at primitive tribal societies illuminates it still further. Through most of human history, we were organised into tribes. Any tribe was a closely knit community. They had an uneasy truce with neighbouring tribes. This was broken frequently and wars used to break out often. Wars meant killing, genocide, rape and subjugation of women. But inside the tribe violent rape is rare. Why?
A rapist, or any transgressor for that matter, had to suffer the consequences. The relatives of the raped girl will try and kill him for revenge. They will torture him and cut off his you-know-what before killing him. Ostracism was another punishment. But you can never assume that a woman could safely go within reach of another tribe. One can imagine what might happen.
What is the point of all this? Many may find this line of thought objectionable. This is because the idea is rife that humans are blank slates and society just conditions them. That is true to an extent. But what is also true is the fact that we have an inherent nature. An inherent behavioural pattern that can be good as well as bad. Sometimes very bad. Occasionally, extremely cruel and wile.
Being a man, I find it revolting, but the truth is that many men have an inherent tendency to force women into sex, especially under certain circumstances:
When the fear of ostracism is not there, as when you already are an outcast or a migrant or when you are in a bustling inner city where anybody would be anonymous.
When the fear of retribution is not there. When systems and governments collapse and are unable to provide swift and effective punishment.
When wars, genocides and progroms are on. In these situations it had been shown that even hitherto nice, normal men may commit these atrocities.
And yes- when you are in a very male dominated society that condones rape of a perceived liberated woman. That also is a fact. But in my opinion, not the predominant factor.
Swift and effective punishment and public ostracism is good. Violent rape especially if repeated should be swiftly punished by death or life-long incarceration. And it should not be pleasant. It should be that almost every criminal is caught so that punishment is certain.
Modern law assumes its function is reformation, but it is not. It was, is and always about revenge and deterrence. And it is needed. Revenge for transgressing society’s just demands and deterrence to instil fear. Fear is a good deterrence.
So men should be conditioned not to rape. Fear of punishment is the only reliable way of doing it.
About the rants of the rapist that is now aired all over the world, what is the point? Why should he be given a voice? Is his opinion the opinion of the ‘patriarchal society of India’ or the miserable self-justification of a wretched criminal who deserves torture and death?
Decide for yourself.
