Ab Bas! Not Just Vinesh, The Homeland Continues To Enrage India’s Daughters

Oxford Dictionary defines eve-teasing as, “the making of unwanted sexual remarks or advances by a man to a woman in a public place.” The concept, however, gained attention in the 1960s across the nation. Now you must be thinking why I suddenly chose to explain this to you now?

Sadly it's happened once again! With the repulsive occurrence that took place in the capital on midnight of December 31, and almost consistently since, there is no foreseeable end to it.

Jantar-Mantar Face Off: WFI v Players

On the off chance that you are still only suspecting what I'm referring to, I want to believe that all of you will at least be shocked when you connect the dots. While perhaps you are indeed not similarly maddened by the development occurring at the wrestlers' protest in the heart of the capital, at Jantar Mantar.

The very sport that carried India into the global spotlight, right from the big showdown at the world championships to the Olympics, wrestling has been one game that caught our fancy like no other. It even claimed its spot in the popular consciousness via cinema and rose to prominence with some awe-inspiring stories of struggle, endurance, sacrifice, and courageous love for the country.

However, the recent accusations of sexual misconduct levied by medal-winning boxers have taken us not just by surprise but by disgust and pain in equal measures.

And no, I'm not bouncing around with my own conclusion to an unfurling case, yet I wanted to communicate the displeasure that I feel with one after another reportage of episodes that unfortunately involve women at their core.

While being subjected to a position of undue subordination is not something that’s new for you and me as a woman, what really fails us is the idea that it’s okay to treat us unequally, make us question our very purpose of survival and use every chance to abuse our very voices. It was always an unequal world, there can't be questions about that, but what’s absolutely preposterous is that nobody truly seems to mind. It’s that we are left to fight these battles on our own, and indeed, we have finally learnt to fight them well.

“WFI President Has Sexually Exploited Women Wrestlers”, said Vinesh Phogat, the country’s only double World Championship medallist, who found resonance amidst fellow wrestlers including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and various others. They alleged that the women wrestlers have been sexually harassed by coaches as well as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at national camps.

#Jantar mantar pic.twitter.com/ZKsDkq9ork

— Sangeeta Phogat (@sangeeta_phogat) January 18, 2023

What followed were a series of reactions from across the board, right from DCW swinging into action and seeking an explanation on the matter to fellow wrestler, Olympian and now politician, Babita Phogat acting as the centre's messenger to assuring swift action, and the centre asking the wrestling body for a response in three days.

However, what must not be missed here is the blatant misuse of power and a deep sense of misogyny that once again comes to the fore. The act of subjecting someone to unwanted or indecent sexual advances or activity just because you got an upper hand, courtesy the gender and the job, cannot not be taken as a wake-up call. Because this is not the first time, this is definitely not the only time.

Laws On Sexual Misconduct

Notably, there are no particular regulations in the country to address the offences related to sexual misconduct.

Nonetheless, Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 levies punishment for assaulting a woman and outraging her modesty. The Section states punishment as imprisonment for a period of up to two years, with a fine, or both.

However, with the recent Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, the punishment has been increased and may vary from one year to five years, accompanied by a fine.

India's History Of Mistreating Its Women

And despite the laws to the rescue, this doesn't seem to stop the offenders. Let's talk about numbers to better understand the divide between having a law and putting that very law into action. According to World Bank's report titled "Streamlining Grievance Redressal Mechanisms: Detering sexual harassment on public transport and urban spaces" released in 2022, over 80 per cent of women in Delhi that were surveyed faced sexual harassment, however, only one per cent of them reported it to the police.

Courtesy: The World Bank- Streamlining Grievance Redressal Mechanisms: Detering sexual harassment on public transport and urban spaces

Furthermore, this is presumably similar across the length and breadth of the country. India's business capital, Mumbai, has 2% of women suburbanites who have faced harassment. The miserable part is that when they reached out to the police and requested legitimate action, none of them was happy with the results. Over half of the women in Chennai reported sexual misconduct, however, just 6% of them told the police.

And these are the country’s biggest metropolitan cities that we are talking about. Let’s not even get started with what happens in the hidden by-lanes and fields of our countryside and towns.

In another study on women in Delhi, numerous respondents acknowledged creating some distance from their supposed harasser because of fears of raising the circumstance or 'causing a situation'. Nonetheless, what is enormously disturbing is the fact that women who get to witness such misconduct at their workplace do not even get the chance to do any of this.

Protect Thy Daughters

This is truly rankling on the grounds that right now we are not, in any event, attempting to get the offender to receive a lesson or face the repercussions of these outrageously wrong actions, yet find a getaway that leads us, at least, physically unhurt.

And then yet again be reminded, that maybe, this is too soon to rush in and make judgement calls on what's turning out at the WFI. However, our humble hope is to guarantee that, if found guilty, regardless of the power an individual exercises, he will be PUNISHED.

Is it too much of an ask to guarantee our girls a protective country that brings certainty back and consoles them that they are being taken care of, even on an empty street, during a late-night walk, around the club, while commuting via metros or buses, and inside their homes?

Please ensure your daughters that they are home and safe!