alas, if only that's true. in
reality, sexual discriminaion, gender inequality, male chauvinism
and domestic violence is rife among indian men. but let's not be
too hasty to blame them just yet. because its got nothing to do
with indian politics. but its just part and parcel of centuries of
indian culture, tradition, heritage, civilization, blah blah blah.
which means it's here to stay. are you in HCI yet? here's what
indian men do to their women behind closed doors or whenever no one
else is watching. 45 percent of Indian women are slapped, kicked or
beaten by their husbands. Risk Rises with Education. India also has
the highest rate of violence during pregnancy. Of the women
reporting violence, 50 percent were kicked, beaten or hit when
pregnant. About 74.8 percent of the women who reported violence
have attempted to commit suicide.
Kumud Sharma of the Centre for Women's Development Studies in New
Delhi traced the correlation between education and domestic
violence to patriarchal attitudes. "Educated women are aware of
their rights," she said. "They are no longer willing to follow
commands blindly. When they ask questions, it causes conflicts,
which, in turn, leads to violence. In many Indian states, working
women are asked to hand over their paycheck to the husband and have
no control over their finances. So, if they stop doing so or start
asserting their right, there is bound to be friction."
Domestic violence experts say the problem in India stems from a
cultural bias against women who challenge their husband's right to
control their behavior. Women who do this---even by asking for
household money or stepping out of the house without their
permission--are seen as punishable. This process leads men to
believe their notion of masculinity and manhood is reflected to the
degree to which they control their wives.
"The behavior of men stems from their understanding of
masculinity," said Nandita Bhatla, researcher with the
International Center for Research on Women, "and what their role
should be vis-a-vis women, especially their wives."
Problem of Perception
Men have always been taught to perceive themselves as the superior
sex, said Jyotsna Chatterjee, director of the Joint Women's
Program, a women's resource organization based in New Delhi. It is
this conditioning, she said, that makes them believe they have to
control their wives, especially if they are considered
disobedient.
Although men's preoccupation with controlling their wives declines
with age--as does the incidence of sexual violence--researchers
found that the highest rates of sexual violence were among highly
educated men. Thirty-two percent of men with zero years of
education and 42 percent men with one-to-five years of education
reported sexual violence. Among men with six-to-10 years of
education--as well as those with high-school education and
higher--this figure increased to 57 percent.
A similar pattern was seen when the problem was analyzed according
to income and socioeconomic standing. Those at the lowest rungs of
the socio-economic ladder--migrant labor, cobblers, carpenters, and
barbers--showed a sexual violence rate of 35 percent. The rate
almost doubled to 61 percent among the highest income groups.
Researchers have not determined why men with higher incomes and
educations are more likely to be violent towards women.
Charming Colleague Is Revealed to Be a Wife Beater
Indian theater personality and feminist Tripurari Sharma was
shocked to learn that a well-educated and respected actor in her
theater group was abusing his wife, also an established
actress.
"He was the most helpful, cordial and endearing man," she said.
"His wife would attend rehearsals with bruises at times that she
would cover up. Later, I found out she was being beaten. If the
actress herself had not told me, I would have never believed it.
So, I think it is a myth to think that the high education and
economic status will lessen the risk of violence against
women."
Equally disturbing is the finding that two of every five women in
an abusive relationship in India remain silent about their
suffering because of shame and family honor. The studies have also
shown, nearly one-third of the Indian women experiencing abuse had
thought about running away, but most said they feared leaving their
young children and had no place to go. Activists felt that for
intervention strategies to succeed, attitudes about violence would
have to change and the level of awareness, among both men and
women, about the negative impact of violence had to be
raised.
The incidents were documented in a series of studies carried out by
the Washington-based International Center for Research on Women in
collaboration with independent Indian researchers. The
cross-cultural study looked at the problem of domestic abuse in
India and found that violence against women was prevalent across
regions, communities and classes.
New Round of Debate
While the findings are not new, the study has incubated a new round
of debate about the cultural underpinnings to domestic violence,
especially in India, where the study found a woman's risk of being
beaten, kicked or hit rose along with her level of education.
In the aftermath of the report, advocates are anxious that the data
not be used to retard the push for women's education. That effort
was given new urgency this week with the release of a report by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,
finding that girls in many countries continue to face "sharp
discrimination in access to schooling." The report also finds that
girls in India had just a little better than three-quarters the
chance of boys to receive a primary-school education.
"Interpretation of this data needs to be done very sensitively,"
warned Preet Rustagi, a junior fellow at the New Delhi-based Center
for Women's Development Studies. "Education is an empowering tool
for women and should not be seen as impacting negatively. In fact,
this correlation points to the imperative need for an attitudinal
change among men and society in general." Rustagi has analyzed
crime records relating to violence against women and also found a
correlation between education and domestic violence.
