Strangulating Freedom

When not being raped physically, a woman is most likely being raped of her fundamental right to freedom of speech, expression and life by the moral police of our patriarchal society. Most of us focus our attention towards eliminating the former and fail to see the larger picture which is the suppression of women, of which rape is just a sub-set.

Time and again, there have been instances that have brought the existence of orthodox patriarchal system to light, leaving many shell shocked. The fatwa issued by the grand mufti Maulvi Bashiruddin, against the first all-girls band in Kashmir, condemning their music making to be ‘un-Islamic’ and a step towards demolishing the society’s moral fabric, is the most recent incident projecting the Taliban-like dictatorship that men exercise over women in the Indian society. Religion here seems to be nothing but yet another handy tool to clip the wings of women who dare to step into the male dominated field. This fatwa is, however, not one of its kind. In august 2012, militants in Kashmir threatened to throw acid on the faces of women who use mobile phones and do not keep a veil.

The aspirations and free will of women being crushed under the thumb of chauvinist men is however not restricted to the valley alone. The khap panchayats in most of northern India seem to be singing the same tune, as the diktats issued by them hit similar notes as that of the chauvinist in the valley. One such harmony was sung by the Baghpat village panchayat in Haryana, when they issued a total ban on women under the age of 40 visiting local markets, using mobile phones and being seen in public without their heads covered, which was apparently for their own best interest. Also, it issued instructions warning individuals to refrain from love marriages and anyone found guilty of it would face a total boycott from the community. There have been many such diktats that have echoed through the country, as these khaps crown themselves as the law maker and moral police entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the women of their community.

The government has however done little to put a check on such suppressive and oppressive use of power against women. While some politicians, such as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, came out to voice their disgust and angst against such rulings, their words were nothing but hollow, followed by no concrete action against the defaulters. On the other hand, political leaders such as Rajpal Saini and Om Prakash Chautala happen to stand at the same viewing point as the khap and grand mufti, saying that “women will not die if they don’t use cell phones” and that “they should be married off early to prevent rape”. The government and local political leaders tend to favor such unlawful rulings as they are more interested in reaping in votes than securing the general interests of their female voters.

The judiciary though quick on its feet to condemn such incidents, stating them as being against the Indian Constitution, has been unable to come up with a concrete solution to restrict such illicit oppression of women.

NGOs such as Sahakti Vahini have taken up the initiative to stand up for these women and voice out their plight, in hopes of providing them equal stand in the society as their male counterparts. While these NGOs seem to be doing their best in order to weed out such suppressive order, they could use a hand or two from the central and local government to speed up the process.

In short, in this play of ‘strangulating freedom’, women are mere puppets in the hands of the patriarchal society, where the government and authorities play the role of an audience that occasionally passes languid murmurs of criticism, though never fail to clap hands at the end of  every show!