Why we need feminism

Why we need feminism. In India, Malaysia and the rest of the world.

The first thing that comes to the mind of most people -mostly male, I have good reason to believe- when they hear of 'feminism' are visual images of fierce, angry women extremists demanding that men hold open doors for women and that they carry heavy shopping bags for them. But feminism is so much more beyond petty accusations that men do not respect women if they don't put them up on a pedestal. 

The Oxford dictionary defines 'feminism' as the act of women wishing for equal rights between men and women, and the fight for it.

I'm a 5 ft 7 Asian girl born into a middle-upper class family in Malaysia in the late 21st century, where gender bias is a laughing matter in politics but not serious enough to actually cause any uprising or gender-related protests. Growing up here as young girls and boys have generally been comfortable, there're no wars to battle or strikes to support except the occasional political affairs.

But enough about me, there is a more pressing matter at hand.

If you haven't heard about the recent New Delhi rape case which happened in late 2012, here are the brief facts: The victim and her boyfriend boarded a bus to go home after watching a movie together when the boyfriend suspected something amiss when the bus took a different route from the norm. When he questioned the 6 other men in the bus, they started beating him with an iron rod. When he was unconscious, they gang-raped the victim in the back of the bus. The victim fought back by hitting and biting her assailants and they battered her with the iron rod. They also violently inserted the iron rod into her body and they pulled it out later with such force that her intestines came out along with it. The youngest of the culprits, a minor also used his bare hands to rip out her intestines. When they were through, they dumped the couple onto the road and the bus driver tried to run the victim over but her boyfriend pulled her away in time. They were sent to a hospital and afterwards, the girl sought medical attention in Singapore where she died later, having only 5% of her intestines remaining in her body.

The victim: Jyoti Singh Pandey

Jyoti Singh Pandey after the vicious attack

Gruesome, isn't it? And you're only reading it, not experiencing it. 

Reading this piece of news made my eyes well up with angry tears. Of all the ridiculous things that people do to hurt others, this is by far the worst I have heard of.

Dubbed the rape capital of India, cases of rape, molestation and just outraging of women's modesty occurs on a daily basis in New Delhi. And why? Why is it that in a country infested with such heinous crimes and criminals, nothing is done by the able government to correct it?

The first hurdle, is the attitude of the society, both men and women. When victims lodge a police report, much like many other places in the world, the police asks the victim, 'Are you sure?'. Imagine, you just got violated by another being you wanted nothing to do with, your most intimate parts, forcibly seen and touched by another, and here the supposed men of justice are asking you if it was all in your head. In India, many victims have been blamed by the police for not dressing decently or for not staying at home WHERE ALL GIRLS BELONG. Some even ask the victims to marry their rapists, so the problem is settled. You just died on the inside and your pride, privacy and body has been through unwarranted physicality by someone you will absolutely hate for the rest of your life, you want them dead and the police asks you to marry them. Your family and friends are no less unsupportive. You have shamed them by getting raped. Why did you have to go and get raped?

The other obstacles are not much different. Tier after tier of society, the root of this injustice is how women are viewed in the eyes of the people. 'It's always the woman's fault.' This line has had it's fair share of space in the papers, constantly on the lips of ignorant politicians, and recently, spiritual gurus in India.

Asharam Bapu

Asharam (pic above), a spiritual guru in India has said that the girl was at fault in this rape case, saying that she should have chanted God's name and fallen at the feet of the attackers to stop the assault. Alright, so she might not have been as religious as she should be when at the mercy of 6 heartless monsters, but Asharam, is that justification for her untimely, excruciatingly painful death?

Jyoti (the victim) was a 23 year old medical student interning in physiotherapy and she was probably going to get married too. But all that bright, happy future for an ordinary girl whose dreams is just like everybody else's, dashed in a heartbeat, and for what? So that 6 men could do unspeakable things which can only be the stuff of Satan's dreams and escape the law due to the faulty upholding of it and horribly corrupted judicial system in India?

Jyoti's dad can now only pray that his daughter's passing will awaken India and new legislations will be put in place to safeguard the rest of India's women and put those guilty behind bars.

As you read this, there is hope for Indian women yet; lawyers, students and infuriated people from all walks of life have gathered in mass protests in India, demanding a safer country for all.

However, amidst all the fighting spirit this social storm has garnered, the criminals are currently in proceedings where their lawyer has pleaded not guilty and depending on how long the judges take to come out with the verdict, the biggest fear is that all this enthusiasm will die away and India will once again be back to square one.

A few other countries like the States have released statements to the family offering their condolences while Ban Ki Moon from the UN has condemned the horrific incident. I sincerely hope Malaysia will in some way reach out to the grieving family as well as support the movements in India.

I'm just a 20 year old girl studying her law degree with dreams of becoming a Human Rights and Environmental lawyer in the future. I cannot participate in their protests nor can I reach out to them physically but I've been touched by this story and the fight for just the most basic rights for women there. Neither do I have a big audience, but I'm doing all I can and I hope to spread the story of Jyoti and the struggle in India to anyone I can. I hope you do too.

Finally, a fitting situation for Muse's 'Uprising'.

Note: None of the pictures are mine. No credit for the pictures go to me. Facts in this article are from various online resources.

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