To: Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
Harvard Indian Community appeals to Prime Minister Modi to initiate a nation wide conversation ...
The ban on the documentary 'India's Daughter', depicting the brutal gang rape in Delhi in 2012, issued by the Government of India, is a shameful act of suppression and reinforces the stigma surrounding honest conversations about sexuality, patriarchy and a deeply pervasive culture of gender-based violence
Why is this important?
Government of India’s decision to ban director Leslie Udwin’s documentary ‘India’s Daughter’, which depicts the story of the brutal gang rape in Delhi in 2012, is a shameful act of suppression. The restraining order issued by the Government reinforces the stigma surrounding honest conversations about sexuality, patriarchy and a deeply pervasive culture of gender-based violence. We the undersigned – students, faculty, administrators, alumni and staff of the Indian Community at Harvard University – are infuriated, and condemn this action strongly and unequivocally.
The voice of the rapist echoes the statements made by some of our political and religious leadership in the past and is a reflection of attitudes that normalize rape-culture. The denigrating comments of defence lawyers M.L Sharma and A.P Singh reveal that these abhorrent ideas transcend social and economic backgrounds.
As fellow Indians, this leads us to question the patriarchal views we all inadvertently promote through our actions, words and silence - however subtle they may be. We bear collective responsibility for denying women the right to grow as individuals in a free society and occupy public space as equals - when we stop women from going out without male company, excuse men of the household from performing domestic chores, refuse to acknowledge marital rape, suppress women's professional aspirations, discriminate in their journey towards economic independence, and trivialize the voyeuristic gaze. As a society, we identify women not as individuals but overwhelmingly as daughters, mothers and wives of men in their lives. We perpetuate intellectual and social apartheid by promoting the idea that men have the prerogative to decide what women should and shouldn't do, can and can not do.
The delay in judicial proceedings, inertia in working through the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee, and reducing the number of Nirbhaya Centres are all continuing systemic failures in the face of a nationwide outcry. The scabs are coming off from a deep-seeded wound and the actions of agitated citizens are a manifestation of the outrage boiling over since the heinous crime.
The way forward is to lead a committed, concerted effort to address the problem at its root and to not mask it with insecure chauvinism. The political perception of recent developments as an international embarrassment, rather than a motivation to acknowledge and confront the gravity of the situation, strikes a massive blow to the citizenry's faith in governance as an agency of public welfare. We want the Government of India with immediate effect, to open up an honest introspective conversation, and work through its policies to tackle gender violence.
The country stands in solidarity with Nirbhaya and your silence, Prime Minister, is deafening.
The voice of the rapist echoes the statements made by some of our political and religious leadership in the past and is a reflection of attitudes that normalize rape-culture. The denigrating comments of defence lawyers M.L Sharma and A.P Singh reveal that these abhorrent ideas transcend social and economic backgrounds.
As fellow Indians, this leads us to question the patriarchal views we all inadvertently promote through our actions, words and silence - however subtle they may be. We bear collective responsibility for denying women the right to grow as individuals in a free society and occupy public space as equals - when we stop women from going out without male company, excuse men of the household from performing domestic chores, refuse to acknowledge marital rape, suppress women's professional aspirations, discriminate in their journey towards economic independence, and trivialize the voyeuristic gaze. As a society, we identify women not as individuals but overwhelmingly as daughters, mothers and wives of men in their lives. We perpetuate intellectual and social apartheid by promoting the idea that men have the prerogative to decide what women should and shouldn't do, can and can not do.
The delay in judicial proceedings, inertia in working through the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee, and reducing the number of Nirbhaya Centres are all continuing systemic failures in the face of a nationwide outcry. The scabs are coming off from a deep-seeded wound and the actions of agitated citizens are a manifestation of the outrage boiling over since the heinous crime.
The way forward is to lead a committed, concerted effort to address the problem at its root and to not mask it with insecure chauvinism. The political perception of recent developments as an international embarrassment, rather than a motivation to acknowledge and confront the gravity of the situation, strikes a massive blow to the citizenry's faith in governance as an agency of public welfare. We want the Government of India with immediate effect, to open up an honest introspective conversation, and work through its policies to tackle gender violence.
The country stands in solidarity with Nirbhaya and your silence, Prime Minister, is deafening.