Pottmeyer 1

Tess Pottmeyer
Mr. Phillips
AP English 3
7 December 2015
Horrendous Violence in India
Cruelty, rape, and dehumanization are just a few things Indian women have to
endure. Females of all ages fear to leave the supervision of honorable men and even
that is not adequate to protect women from the brutality. There is no safe place. Venue,
age, and occasion do not avert men from assaulting women. They do not care if they
rape women in a public setting or if it is light outside. India is home to the highest
violence against women rates in the world. The media and government are not
sufficiently changing society to decrease rape and violence against women.
Men do not take into account age when they violate someone. There have been
multiple cases in which minors under the age of five have experienced the brutal
violence. Senseless and gushing blood, a two year old toddler was found abandoned
and just a week later a four year old girl was discovered raped and wounded with a
knife adjacent to railroad tracks (Dearden). There are no excuses for harming a child;
they are defenseless and vulnerable. How shameful can a culture be when grown men
turn to raping children? Mothers must also endure the horror.
The Indian government is not doing enough to help decrease the rate of violence
between married couples. The government refuses to pass laws illegalizing husbands
from raping their wives. Mansi Choksi reported that a member of the government
pronounced that if marital rape was a crime, it would impair the foundation of marriage.

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Women are their own selves and are capable of deciding actions that involve them.
Men feel that they must dominate and be superior. Kumkum Dasgupta proclaimed that
manliness is defined on how a man can assert himself in marriage and overall retain
control of the lady. Marriage is a union between woman and man, they are supposed to
be equal, but they are not if the man can dominate their wife as though they are
property. Women are sometimes even forced into the marriage. Unfortunately the
media is not aiding the situation either.
The Indian media and government do not demote rape and violence against
women. Characterizing people that defile females as courageous needs to cease
(Rape and Murder in Delhi). People are greatly influenced by media and young
boys that view it will assume it is acceptable to harm women. The government has
denied media that advocates against violence for women. The showing of Indias
Daughter was outlawed which scrutinized the rape of Joyoti (State of Denial).
Rejecting media that would help the circumstance is showing citizens that their
government does not care. The media and government need to work together to
abolish violence against women.
An abundance of rapes are not reported for fear of backlash in their society.
India is still ruled by patriarchy where females debate whether to come forward about
rape, because they are afraid of being excluded and criticized. Indian culture needs to
transition into a society where violated women are embraced and come forward readily
(Gordts). Young ladies, unfortunately, cannot even turn to their families and friends for
guidance, because they know they will be denounced. When women come forward,
many of their cases are discarded. Over six thousand cases about domestic violence

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under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act have been relinquished
and are not being investigated. Violated women have no beneficial place to turn for
help, not even the government will protect them. The government is not helping and
society disapproves of them.
The government forbids circumstances that would somehow entice men to rape
or act violently towards women. Only foolish and senseless men react to
undergarments in a violent way. Lingerie was prohibited from being publicly displayed
in windows, because it enrages men to violate women (David). Clothing is not to be
blamed as the reason why men feel the need to rape women. Societys notion that
violence is okay propels the negative situation. The government is not apprehending
the extent of the circumstance.
Indias government does not recognize how horrendous the situation is. Violence
is ignored and forgotten. Many cases that end up headlines do not affect the complex
social hierarchies that rationalize violence (Kalyanwala). Officials neglect the building
issue. When confronted by other countries, the government creates excuses and
emphasizes other countries problems. Playing down their dilemmas in comparison to
other countries is a fault that the Indian media tries to accomplish, but utterly fails
(Tawil). Statistics presented are inaccurate, because most women do not report the
crime. The government also only seems to look out for their best interest. Activists
criticize how the government is more concerned in preserving itself than its own
citizens, notably women (Yardley). Governments are defined corrupt when citizens are
no longer priority.

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Although the government has made multiple mistakes, they have had some
positive accomplishments. They utilized modern technology to attempt a safer society.
An application for smartphones called Himmat was created by police to help females
who feel unsafe at night (Gordts). It will not considerably decrease violence, but is a
step in the right direction. Institutions exclusively for women have also been created. A
$161 million banking structure entirely for females was proposed by the government
(Gowen). The system would decrease the amount of times women come into contact
with men who could potentially rape them. The drastic separation of genders has many
people questioning its effect.
The first step to mending the atrocious problem is to change the way society
views victims. The government should be creating refugees and safe houses for them
while allowing the women to provide a way to support themselves, will build a stronger
community. Laws and Acts must be passed illegalizing marital rape and punishment for
any assault must be more rigorous. Younger generations need to be educated on how
to behave and properly be raised. The women who are violated must not be criticized,
but the men who do the dreadful action. The government must realize how
unacceptable the circumstance has become and take stronger action. There is no
justification to how a country can become so violent other than that the government has
given up on its citizens.
The government and media are not adequately reducing the rate of violence
against women. Ladies all around India must tolerate the despicable reality in society
where assault is not scowled upon. The government needs to introduce laws and
regulations that demolish violence and give a severe punishment if broken.

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Work Cited
Choksi, Mansi. "India's Government Doesn't Seem to Care That Husbands Can Legally
Rape Their Wives | VICE News." VICE News RSS. VICE News RSS, 4 May
2015. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
Dasgupta, Kumkum. "How Can India End This Tide of Violence against Women?" The
Guardian. The Guardian, 10 Dec. 2014. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
David, Mary. "Banning Lingerie From Storefronts Won't Solve India's Gang Rape
Problem." The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 4 Dec.
2015.
Dearden, Lizzie. "Toddler and Five-year-old Girl Gang Raped in India." The
Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 17 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Dec.
2015.
Gordts, Eline. "What You Need To Know About Chronic Sexual Violence In India." The
Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 15 Jan. 2015. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
Gowen, Annie. "'Women-only' spaces grow in India." Washington Post 28 Sept. 2013.
Global Issues In Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Kalyanwala, Kayonaaz. "Indian Women Break the Silence Around Rape." The
Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 22 Dec. 2013. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
"Rape and murder in Delhi; India's women." The Economist [US] 5 Jan. 2013: 9(US).
Global Issues In Context. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.

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"State Of Denial." Nation [Karachi, Pakistan] 5 Mar. 2015. Global Issues In Context.
Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Tawil, Kuro. "Dear Indian Media, Please Stop Calling the Kettle Black." The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
Yardley, Jim. "Leaders Response Magnifies Outrage in India Rape Case." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 29 Dec. 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.