India and rape hit the headlines around the world again this week, to the chagrin of Indian officials. However, this time it was their actions, not those of the rapists, which created the fallout.
The crisis was caused by the documentary India’s Daughter, set to be aired on International Women’s Day tomorrow by BBC4’s Storyville series, which features an interview with one of the men convicted of a fatal gang rape in New Delhi in December 2012.
While the focus of the controversy has been comments made by Mukesh Singh in which he blames the victim, Jyoti Singh, for being out at night and for fighting back against her attackers, the film is more about the aftermath of the rape — the huge street protests in New Delhi and elsewhere, the impact on Jyoti’s parents, the suspects’ parents and India itself.
The Indian home minister banning the film from being shown in the country and talking about taking action against the BBC and YouTube is a classic example of shooting the messenger. His actions only resulted in the BBC showing the film four days ahead of schedule and it being uploaded repeatedly to YouTube.
Watching the documentary, viewers can see why Indian officials might feel anxious, but not because of Mukesh Singh’s attitude. His excuses have been made by rapists the world over. More disturbing are interviews with two of the defense attorneys.
M.L. Sharma says “we [India] have the best culture. In our culture, there is no place for a woman,” while A.P. Singh declares that if his daughter or sister were to engage in premarital sex, he would pour gasoline over her and set her alight in front of the entire family. He also claims that scores of Indian lawmakers have been charged with rape or similar crimes, but have yet to be tried.
Misogynistic comments by the educated elite are harder to dismiss than those made by the poor and uneducated. India’s Daughter highlights the fact that attackers of girls and women are empowered by societies in which women are seen as second-class citizens.
Rape happens in every society, and not just to females. It is about power and violence, not sex. However, rape is just one in a catalogue of assaults against women aimed at subjugating them, depriving them of their rights and of a life equal to males. It begins with gender-selective abortions and genital mutilation, and includes name-shaming and verbal abuse, sex trafficking, acid attacks, domestic violence and murder.
Brazilian lawmakers this week recognized the extent of the problem by approving a bill to recognize femicide as an aggravated form of homicide. The bill covers cases where a female has been killed following domestic violence or gender-based violence, and includes increased penalties if the victim was killed in front of family members. It has yet to be signed into law [ editor's note: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed it into law on March 9], but it is a major step forward, and an example to other nations.
Ghopal Subramanium, a senior advocate for the Indian Supreme Court, who was also interviewed in India’s Daughter, took aim at those who would dismiss rapists as aberrations or monsters, or blame girls and women for being attacked.
“Nobody is a monster in that he is excluded from society; after all, any society that has these rapists has to take responsibility for them,” Subramanium said. However, his most telling words presaged the Indian home minister’s actions this week.
“When you do demand accountability, establishments feel highly threatened,” he said.
On the eve of International Women’s Day, Subramanium’s words hammer home some hard truths. Rape and female disenfranchisement do not happen in a vacuum. M.L. Sharma is wrong; there can be no culture if women are not part of it — an equal part.
Congratulations to China’s working class — they have officially entered the “Livestock Feed 2.0” era. While others are still researching how to achieve healthy and balanced diets, China has already evolved to the point where it does not matter whether you are actually eating food, as long as you can swallow it. There is no need for cooking, chewing or making decisions — just tear open a package, add some hot water and in a short three minutes you have something that can keep you alive for at least another six hours. This is not science fiction — it is reality.
In a world increasingly defined by unpredictability, two actors stand out as islands of stability: Europe and Taiwan. One, a sprawling union of democracies, but under immense pressure, grappling with a geopolitical reality it was not originally designed for. The other, a vibrant, resilient democracy thriving as a technological global leader, but living under a growing existential threat. In response to rising uncertainties, they are both seeking resilience and learning to better position themselves. It is now time they recognize each other not just as partners of convenience, but as strategic and indispensable lifelines. The US, long seen as the anchor
Kinmen County’s political geography is provocative in and of itself. A pair of islets running up abreast the Chinese mainland, just 20 minutes by ferry from the Chinese city of Xiamen, Kinmen remains under the Taiwanese government’s control, after China’s failed invasion attempt in 1949. The provocative nature of Kinmen’s existence, along with the Matsu Islands off the coast of China’s Fuzhou City, has led to no shortage of outrageous takes and analyses in foreign media either fearmongering of a Chinese invasion or using these accidents of history to somehow understand Taiwan. Every few months a foreign reporter goes to
The war between Israel and Iran offers far-reaching strategic lessons, not only for the Middle East, but also for East Asia, particularly Taiwan. As tensions rise across both regions, the behavior of global powers, especially the US under the US President Donald Trump, signals how alliances, deterrence and rapid military mobilization could shape the outcomes of future conflicts. For Taiwan, facing increasing pressure and aggression from China, these lessons are both urgent and actionable. One of the most notable features of the Israel-Iran war was the prompt and decisive intervention of the US. Although the Trump administration is often portrayed as
RSS