India is worse

Rishi wrote:BHARTIYANARI 2 days ago
I am a western educated female journalist from India (living in London) and it is my opinion that the writer is trivialising the issue by associating it with violence suffered by women in the west. There is no doubt that violence against women is a pandemic. However, the honour code, culture and patriarchal hierarchies that are associated with the incident in question and many other incidents of violence from the 3rd world simply don't match up to how women are viewed and treated here in the west. Let me tell you how it is. As a 11 year old, I first experienced a man rubbing his genitals on my behind whilst standing in a queue with my mom. I didn't tell my mom because I thought it was an accident. Since that day, until today, every time I step out, I have always been greeted by cat calls (despite fully covering up), whistles and derogatory names. Outside my university (an all girls institute), there was a permanent police check post. We were advised to grow nails and wear high heels to fend off miscreants whilst travelling by public transport to university. A woman is branded a slut for everything she does including being too educated, speaking up and having a boyfriend. Alcohol and premarital sex come much higher up the list. You virtually cannot be a 'good woman' unless you cover up, shut up and live a life of no opinions. But, don't get me wrong. Ours is also a society where women fight. We constantly battle to be recognised and this reflects in our growing economy. We probably have the highest number of female engineers (a predominantly male field) anywhere in the world. The chief minister of my state is a women, the chief minister of Delhi, our capital is a woman, the head of our ruling party is a woman and the president of our country was a woman until very recently. Our women are scientists, beauty queens, writers, activists and investment bankers, having great careers across the world. Our problem is one that most post colonial societies face. One that requires people to constantly assert their power in a corrupt society that hardly recognises them or their needs. Our problem is a vicious circle where gender segregation creates 'othering' and dehumanising tendencies within the same social setup. Our problem is normalisation of gender based violence due to the postcolonial gender norms attributed to men and women. So please don't compare this to the west. No one rubs against your derriere or tries to pinch your breast whilst travelling on the tube in London. No one looks at your breasts instead of your face in a job interview in London. It's not hard to get married without being a virgin in London. More importantly, if someone slapped me because I am a 'slut', the police will take this very seriously. In India, if a man called me a 'slut', the police'man' will probably think I am a slut and even rape me, because, 'I am just a slut'. In the west, these things may happen. But they happen only as exceptions. Not the norm. Owen, my friend, you have confusion problem between exceptions and norms.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/sexual-violence-is-not-a-cultural-phenomenon-in-india--it-is-endemic-everywhere-8433445.html