The government of India has banned airing of the BBC documentary - India's Daughter - by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin claiming it "gives platform for the rapist to voice his opinion".
Leslee Udwin (Picture: Imtiyaz Khan /HT Photo)
Sadly, what the rape convict Mukesh Singh says is actually what a large section of our society believes in. Despite countrywide protests and extensive media coverage and campaigning for justice for the December 16 rape victim, the fact remains that we continue to blame the conduct of the girl if and when she is raped. If half of our population takes to streets demanding better law and order situation each time a girl is raped, there is the other half that rants about the responsibilities of the girl and her family and how they could have avoided the whole crime.
What is most ridiculous is the fact that we continue to defend the rapists. Instead of fighting and trying to imbibe a balanced & normal gender values in our kids, we continue to segregate women - we believe having more women in administration and police - that is a different issue my dear countrymen! Simply having women address reports of women crimes does not exactly help the cause.
Our basic upbringing manners need a change. We cannot tell our sons that they are above our daughters, they own everything while the daughters are a financial burden on the clan and expect them to respect women they meet outside of our own families. We should avoid having different rules for our sons and daughters. That is where the whole power politics begins. If there are no conflicts regarding the power equation between a sister and a brother, there are little chances that a man would want to overpower a woman behaving 'too manly' for her existence.
If we tell our kids that it is equally unsafe for men and women to be out on the streets late at night, they will not judge women who happen to be there at midnight and believe that they are 'asking for it'.
In an interview to Hindustan Times, British filmmaker asked, "If you don’t understand the psyche of the rapist, how would you solve the problem." Precisely the reason why her documentary needs to be aired in India as well and (hopefully) the YouTube link will not be blocked. Watch it, face it and fight it instead closing the eyes to the shameful reality.
