January 25, 2013: First thoughts
As some of you may know, I (Geeta Aiyer) helped organize a vigil in memory of the victim of the recent Delhi bus gang rape on [January 7] in Harvard Square. Since the news of that tragedy began filtering out, I suspect many of us were profoundly affected by it and perhaps moved to reflect on what it implied about Indian society as a whole - both culturally as well as institutionally. Obviously there is some much-needed investigation taking place now; people are examining every aspect of the situation, from assessing how police react in such situations, to whether our laws are adequate to protect victims of sexual violence, or whether it is the implementation of the existing laws that is at fault, or indeed, whether the issue needs to be addressed by re-evaluating more fundamental views towards women in Indian society.
But in all this, there is one thing I would point out to you. The thing that has greatly heartened me throughout this tragic episode and where I perhaps sense a momentum building, is in the reaction of normal Indian people. If you look at the nationwide response, it was astonishing. It was ordinary Indian men and women standing up and saying, "This is no longer acceptable." Ordinary people challenging so-called immutable assumptions about how women should be treated in Indian society. People saying, "No. It is not longer okay to assume that it is a fact of life that my daughter will be manhandled and "eve-teased" - that grotesque expression - when she uses public transport, or if I send her down the road to buy milk. For too long have we been condoning this and now we see where it can lead and we refuse to accept this. We refuse to accept that this is an inherent aspect of Indian society. We want change. We demand change. And you my friend (to the politicians), are going to put the laws and policies in place that lead us to where we need to be. You will listen to us."
So obviously, the first question that arose in my mind was, sitting so far away here, how can I do something to help? Firstly, how can I do something that is meaningful and relevant? Secondly, how can I do something that works in an Indian context - that acknowledges the scale of the dilemma and its many tentacles, but that still proffers a solution that is adapted to that reality? As a starting point, I decided to found an organization. I pondered various names for it, including "Anaamika" or "The nameless one," for the victim was, for a long time, the nameless one. But then I thought about the phrase that was used at one point to intimate what she represented - "India's daughter". And how in a sense, that applies to all women of Indian origin - for we are all "India's daughters". And so I decided to call it "India's Daughters".
The goal of this nonprofit - which is still very much in the process of being granularly defined - is to address the current issues of sexual harassment and violence against Indian women. At this stage, it has three aims:
» First, to understand the multi-faceted conditions that result in widespread harassment and sexual violence.
» Second, to define specific areas in which we may target our efforts to create meaningful change on the ground.
» Third, to leverage the experience of Indian nonprofits and groups already doing work in this area and, where appropriate, to partner with or assist them in their efforts.
So, it is still early days, but the one thing that I strongly felt was that this was one issue where I could WANTED to play an active role. I frankly don't know yet precisely what impact "India's Daughters" will have in the road ahead, but I want to be a part of the coming call for change. I want to help shape the debate and indeed, in some regard, I feel that in coming from a Western Society, I can offer advice and guidance from the experiences of a society that has been through these kinds of challenges before and identified a framework for dealing with them. Because this is not an "Indian" problem. It is an issue that is widespread - was once even more widespread - but which some countries are further ahead in dealing with. The question is whether we can be honest enough to face the problem and address it head-on.
