The ‘honour’ of certain communities has become a very fragile commodity. It gets violated by every little action of its women. If girls from their community marry men from outside, the honour gets violated; if they marry men from their own community, the honour is infringed. It also gets breached if two women become friendly, as happened on April 18 in Ranila village of Charkhi Dadri area of Haryana when two widows were beaten to death ruthlessly before hundreds of ‘spectators’ for ‘having an affair’, as was alleged by a rapist on parole. And now, women are barred from work by a ‘fatwa’ issued by panchayats of Gadowali and Sarai villages of Haridwar district. Violators were told to pay Rs 5,100 and also face humiliation. This fatwa was issued across boundaries of caste and religion.
In a democratic country governed by a Constitution which guarantees equal rights and opportunity to work regardless of gender, caste and creed, could a panchayat’s dictate restrict women from work? The answer is, yes. While the Constitution may have empowered women with equal rights, the implementation of these rights by the administrative machinery has been dismal, giving teeth to such bodies like the khap panchayats. The fragile ‘izzat’ of the said community was ‘abused’ by one of the girls working in an industrial unit who eloped with a boy! So, the entire women force of the area had to face the wrath. Fortunately, after the district police took stern action and offered police protection to working girls, the panchayats took a u-turn by declaring the fatwa to be meant only for minor girls. This proves how an active administrative machinery can weaken these self-styled socially regressive forces.
In an India of 9 per cent growth rate and many well- meaning legislations to bring in more equality among all sections all of the society, violence against women is the fastest-growing crime, thanks to institutions like these. Every 26 minutes a woman is molested, every 34 minutes a rape takes place, and every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped, according to the Home Ministry’s National Crime Records Bureau. There is more to these crimes than the apparent issue of honour. In the land of few opportunities and many contenders, elimination of girls paves way for the socially preferred and favoured male employment.
In a democratic country governed by a Constitution which guarantees equal rights and opportunity to work regardless of gender, caste and creed, could a panchayat’s dictate restrict women from work? The answer is, yes. While the Constitution may have empowered women with equal rights, the implementation of these rights by the administrative machinery has been dismal, giving teeth to such bodies like the khap panchayats. The fragile ‘izzat’ of the said community was ‘abused’ by one of the girls working in an industrial unit who eloped with a boy! So, the entire women force of the area had to face the wrath. Fortunately, after the district police took stern action and offered police protection to working girls, the panchayats took a u-turn by declaring the fatwa to be meant only for minor girls. This proves how an active administrative machinery can weaken these self-styled socially regressive forces.
In an India of 9 per cent growth rate and many well- meaning legislations to bring in more equality among all sections all of the society, violence against women is the fastest-growing crime, thanks to institutions like these. Every 26 minutes a woman is molested, every 34 minutes a rape takes place, and every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped, according to the Home Ministry’s National Crime Records Bureau. There is more to these crimes than the apparent issue of honour. In the land of few opportunities and many contenders, elimination of girls paves way for the socially preferred and favoured male employment.
No comments:
Post a Comment