The culture of rape in India

Sarah Delannoy

Rape is so prevalent that around 98% of men were reported to rape women.

A woman in India is raped every 20 minutes. 94% of rape victims know their attacker. 93 rapes are reported every single day.

(crowdvoice 1)

Nation’s patriarchy. Lack of advocacy from police enforcement. Men’s attitudes.

Men are superior in Indian culture.◦ Dr. Purnima Nagaraja, a psychologist who has worked with

survivors of rape in Delhi, told the Washington Post “In India, men rape because it’s a manly thing to subjugate the weaker sex.”

Caste system inequalities.◦ Dalit women are more vulnerable because they are exploited

by upper class people.

Dalits means “broken” or also referred to as the untouchables.

Dalit women are often sexually labeled, experience gender discriminations, politically excluded, and exposed to verbal abuse constantly.

This low level of respect that Dalit women experience also shows in the rape statistics (Jaishankar & Ronel 151). ◦ According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India,

three Dalit women are raped every day and the total number shows that 1,557 cases of rape women belong to this class.

(Jaishankar & Ronel 151)

Officers would dismay the emotional and psychical symptoms of the victim and ask questions such as:◦ “Do you know the definition of rape?” ◦ “If you pursue this case no one will marry your daughter.”

(Jaishankar & Ronel 151)

Women are seen as the weaker sex and boys get better treatment by getting fed well and getter a better education than women.

“In India, men rape because it’s a manly thing to subjugate the weaker sex.”◦ Dr. Purnima Nagaraja

(Fernandes 1)

Insecurities about status in Indian culture◦ According to Nagaraja, young men resent, “economic disparity between the rich and the poor. When

men feel removed from the patriarchal society of village life, they may cope or try to gain a sense of control through women”

(Smith 1).

Aggressive dominance◦ The gang rape of 2012

Gang of men rapred a 23 year old medical student in New Delhi. The injuries were so bad that she did not survive the assault.

Mukesh Singh, one of the gang rape member of 2012, comments did not surprise me when he stated in the documentary India’s Daughter that, “Housework and housekeeping is for girls…not roaming in discos and bars at night doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes. About 20 percent of girls are good”

(Tulshyan 1)

Independence◦ The skills that Indian women learn will allow them to make their own

decisions which mean that they will become less dependent on men. More opportunities

◦ Vocational training programs are teaching women computer literacy and spoken English.

financially self-reliant ◦ Women in rural areas are being taught how to work in agriculture,

livestock, and handicrafts making.

1

crowdvoice. "Sexual assault in India." 2013.Web. <http://crowdvoice.org/sexual-assault- in-

india>.

Fernandes, I. "Why is rape so prevalent in india?" 2013.Web. <http://www.aleteia.org/en/op-

ed/article/why-is-rape-so-prevalent- in-india-5843195632025600>.

Smith, L. "India gang rapes: How police reflect a culture of tolerance." 2014.Web.

<http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/india-gang-rapes-sexual-violence-role-police-culture-tolerance-

1450635>.

Sundaram, S., Sivakumar, R., Xavier, L. "Dalit Rape Victims: An Analysis of Victim Justice in

India." SASCV 2013 Proceedings., 2013. 151. Print.

Tulshyan, R. "Despite focus of India's daughter, rape in India is not just about poverty."

2015.Web. <http://theaerogram.com/indias-daughter-rape- india-poverty/>.