Rape, in India.
There was a feature on Rape in India yesterday evening, on NPR. On paper, India does not have a rape problem as the number of rapes reported is only 25% the number reported in the US (with a population that is 4 times as large). However, the amount of unreported rapes is estimated to be atleast 19 times the reported number (only 1 in 20 are reported).
Beyond the headlines about rapes in Delhi and Hyderabad, the numbers are apparently much higher in rural areas.
The radio feature laid a lot of the blame at the doorstep of the movie industry. I think this is absolutely right - Almost every Indian movie has the male lead pursuing the female lead in ways that we would be very uncomfortable with in real life, the woman resisting and eventually "succumbing" to the charm and persistence of the male lead. This has seeded the idea in a majority of Indian men that "she actually likes it" and "no means yes".
Rape as an instrument of power is certainly wide-spread (especially in the villages) as a way of enforcing crude "discipline" and to establish dominance.
One thing that was not addressed was lack of access to sex, in the urban environment, especially for the hordes of migrant workers. I strongly believe that legalization of prostitution will help. Certainly, it will also prevent the exploitation of the sex workers that operate on the fringes of society today, with none of the associated protections.
India is changing. A recent article about Oyo refers to the fact that a large % of their bookings are for short stays, booked by unmarried couples. In fact, Oyo has a filter which allows you to see which hotels allow such stays. Oyo is unlikely to live up to its hyped valuation but I am happy that they are allowing for unmarried couples to move out of the shadows of parks and other such unsafe spaces.
Beyond the headlines about rapes in Delhi and Hyderabad, the numbers are apparently much higher in rural areas.
The radio feature laid a lot of the blame at the doorstep of the movie industry. I think this is absolutely right - Almost every Indian movie has the male lead pursuing the female lead in ways that we would be very uncomfortable with in real life, the woman resisting and eventually "succumbing" to the charm and persistence of the male lead. This has seeded the idea in a majority of Indian men that "she actually likes it" and "no means yes".
Rape as an instrument of power is certainly wide-spread (especially in the villages) as a way of enforcing crude "discipline" and to establish dominance.
One thing that was not addressed was lack of access to sex, in the urban environment, especially for the hordes of migrant workers. I strongly believe that legalization of prostitution will help. Certainly, it will also prevent the exploitation of the sex workers that operate on the fringes of society today, with none of the associated protections.
India is changing. A recent article about Oyo refers to the fact that a large % of their bookings are for short stays, booked by unmarried couples. In fact, Oyo has a filter which allows you to see which hotels allow such stays. Oyo is unlikely to live up to its hyped valuation but I am happy that they are allowing for unmarried couples to move out of the shadows of parks and other such unsafe spaces.
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