MUMBAI: In continuation with its ‘De Taali’ campaign, BIG 92.7 FM’s, Delhi Station organized a special ‘Self-Defense’ training for the women of this city on 18 March 09 at ‘World Of Wonders’, Noida.

Special trainers from the prestigious ‘Krav Maga’ organistaion joined BIG FM to impart ‘self-defense’ techniques. Along with the enthusiast participants and trainers, BIG FM’s RJ – Jiah / Neeti also learnt few techniques on ‘self-defense’.

This training is a part of the ‘De Taali’ campaign to fight the menace called eve teasing. The campaign has been planned in great detail, bringing to light the issue that is faced almost every day by women, from across ages and economic strata of society.

The campaign was flagged off from the studios of the radio station on the eve of International Women’s Day by RJ Jiah. The campaign also saw see RJ Jiah , Ramit and Parikshit visit different locations across the city and on catching eve teasers red handed applaud them in true Delhi style, embarrassing them enough to understand the awful act performed.

BIG 92.7 FM Delhi launched the ‘De Taali’ Gang with RJ Jiah and Sunita and has taken it upon themselves to create awareness and put to shame men who lack respect for the opposite sex, thus committing the shameful act, believing that it is their right to do so and seeing no wrong in it.

Commenting about this great initiative, Mr, Ashwin Padmanabhan – Station Director, BIG 92.7 FM – Delhi said, “The issue of eve teasing is huge and not unknown to the city of Delhi. We as a responsible media platform are taking up the initiative of De Taali which is to embarrass eve teasers by applauding the ghastly behavior that they undertake each day.

We are also empowering the women of this city by providing them with a robust ‘self-defense’ training being provided by ‘Krav Maga’. De Taali is a comprehensive campaign which will help women to look up and voice their concern and be better equipped to take action and stand up for themselves.”

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Hall of Shame

A Samvada survey of 348 girls studing in schools and colleges in Karnataka, Ganesh et al (1996) found the following as data:

• 83% of the respondents had experienced physical eve teasing.
• In 13% of these girls, physical eve teasing has occurred when they were less than 10 years old
• 47% of the girls had experienced molestations.
• In 15% of these girls, molestations has occurred when they were below the age of 10 years old.
• 15% has experienced serious form of sexual abuse, including rape.
• In 31% of these girls, serious form of sexual abuse had occurred when they were below the age of 10 years old.
• And 22% of those teased, 37% of those molested and 50% of those seriously abused blamed themselves for incidents.

For her, it’s a disgusting situation. For him, it’s a cheap thrill; a no-strings-attached thrill especially if she cannot talk about it. Vijayalakshmi N wonders what’s in the mind of the ‘eve-teaser’.

It’s the usual peak-hour crowd in the bus. Men and women jostle for space. One black sheep in the crowd boards the bus and brushes against a woman nearby. Mind you, this is no “the driver hit the brakes” or “the bus crossed a speed breaker” accident. The woman clucks in annoyance, and asks him to move away a bit, but it falls on deaf ears. The “brush” happens again and again. She tries telling the conductor. But all that he has to say is “please adjust, madam. We cannot do much because of the crowd.” 

Switch to another scene of action. Men and women are walking around an area where a town fair is organised. Plenty of eyes are sizing up the young girls walking past. One man suddenly lunges at a young woman and fondles her. The woman is too shocked to react and quickly walks away, much in disgust.

Her companion who was walking ahead senses something amiss and questions her. But the young woman can hardly describe what she had just experienced. It was too shameful for her.

According to Dr Chittaranjan Andrade, Psychiatrist, Professor of Psychopharmacology, NIMHANS, “The most common response among most women is feeling shame about what happened; fear that others will ostracise her; guilt that she may have been responsible; anger that she has been subjected to this humiliation; and depression at her helplessness. It is always a trauma.”

Abnormal behaviour

Dr M J Thomas, Co-ordinator and Senior Consultant in Psychiatry, Sagar Apollo hospital, has more to add. He says that the effects of molestation are wide ranging, and vary from survivor to survivor depending on a number of factors. However not all individuals who are molested manifest abnormal behavioural or emotional responses. “But some common feelings are of confusion, powerlessness, betrayal, questioning one’s self beliefs, feeling dirty, shame, vulnerable, unsafe, scared, terrified, angry, suspicious, untrusting, hurt, panic and feeling miserable, to more serious psychological reactions.”

Considered an act of subjecting someone to unwanted or improper sexual advances or activity, including eve teasing, the target can be either a woman or a man, and need not exclusively be against a woman, as is often perceived, explains Dr Thomas. “And the definition of what constitutes molestation or improper sexual advance depends on the cultural sanctions in the country,” he says. Brushing, fondling and rape are all forms of sexual abuse or molestation; it is just a matter of degree, adds Dr Andrade.

On the other hand, what happens in the mind of the molester? Is it a cheap thrill? Or is it a psychological problem?

While it is not clear which one factor is responsible to make the molester act the way he does, Dr Andrade feels that most molesters act out of sexual frustration because Indian society is sexually repressive.

“Segregation of sexes in society does more harm than good, because it deprives the male of opportunities to form normal relationships with members of the opposite sex, and to realise that women are also human beings with feelings and sensitivities. The way male-female behaviour and relationships are depicted in Indian cinema and Western soaps add fuel to the fire,” he says.

“Some molesters, especially the repeated offenders, have a deficit in empathy; that is, an ability to understand that their behaviour causes deep emotional hurt. And some others are genuinely cruel or disturbed and derive pleasure from humiliating their victim,” he adds.

Serial offenders

“Take the case of eve teasing, a euphemism used in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan for sexual harassment or molestation of women by men. It ranges in severity from sexually suggestive remarks to outright groping. Some eve teasers are blatant about their seductive attitudes towards colleagues, subordinates, or students. Often motivated by bravado, harassment occurs when groups of men embarrass others with lewd comments. Groups may sexually derogate the victim to their face or behind their back. A groper is usually serial in his attentions to others. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, in an elevator, at the office or department store, the groper’s eyes and hands begin to wander. A particularly aggressive groper may go so far as to act in public,” details Dr Thomas.

How to cope

“Most often, it is a trauma and the degree of trauma depends on how well adapted the victim is, and how much social support he or she has. In serious cases, the victim should talk to a responsible family member or friend—somebody who will know what to do and will help, and not somebody who will blame her for it. Assistance should be sought from a woman’s cell or police station, that is, authorities who will handle the matter with sensitivity and competence,” suggests Dr Andrade.

But, life is made of some real-life heroes and heroines, who dare to break the mould, brush aside the danger and act, if in defense of their own self.

We leave you with one such heroine, whose name we certainly cannot disclose.

A young woman was travelling in a late night bus to her native town. A man was seated behind her. A little while later, the woman feels a finger groping her rear. At first she thinks she is imagining. But it happens again, and again. A little annoyed and not to be outdone, she decides to be brave. She quietly sticks a safety pin at the place she expects the alien hand to appear again. This time, the trick works. The man’s hand hits the pin and he lets out a howl. Fortunately this time, it’s the man who is in an inexplicable situation. Neither can he explain the true reason why he screamed, nor can he say what his hand was doing there in the first place. All he could do was taste the prickly fruit of his own doing.

And well, not every woman would react as bravely and with a presence of mind like this one. Not every woman dares to.

Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/

MYCATART

Rather than ignore the taunts, Patheja channeled her frustration into founding the Blank Noise Project, one of several new Indian advocacy groups devoted to raising awareness about sexual harassment.

Last year, volunteers stenciled testimonies from harassment victims all over Connaught Place, New Delhi’s central roundabout, and the group’s blog posts candid photos of “eve-teasers” – the Indian euphemism for sexual harassers. Now, Patheja is collecting clothes that women were wearing when they were harassed, preparing to display the outfits en masse in major cities in hopes of confronting the notion that intimidated women “ask for it” by wearing provocative outfits.

The efforts of academics, women’s groups, and artists like Patheja are raising major questions about gender issues and the need for safe public space in a country that’s often preferred to ignore them. Amid India’s booming economy and changing social atmosphere, most women still face taunts and groping on a near-daily basis.

Walks around town, even in the country’s gleaming new offices and malls, are often fraught with unwelcome comments or advances. A permissive attitude toward “eve-teasing” has made change difficult, with offenders frequently dismissed as harmless or even justified, and run-down and often maze-like urban infrastructure can mean that many public spaces remain threatening for women.

For her part, Patheja’s highly visible demonstrations have turned Blank Noise Project into one of India’s most well-known – and perhaps most controversial – community-art projects. But other groups have taken a more systematic approach to advancing womenkrav’s safety.

New Delhi-based Jagori has conducted comprehensive safety audits of the city’s neighborhoods, and its new “SafeDelhi” campaign has set up kiosks and support lines to help women define and report sexual harassment. This year, the group distributed over 5,000 anti-harassment stickers to rickshaw drivers, whose green-and-yellow three-wheelers are often intimidating vehicles for solo women.

When sociologist Shilpa Phadke helped start the academic Gender and Space Project in Mumbai (Bombay), she had not counted on a public advocacy role. But when an interview with a rail official led to his request for help in making stations less threatening for women, the Project’s graduate students sprang into action, counting every broken light in 35 city stations.

In cities like Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru, women’s self-defense classes have grown increasingly popular, with upper and middle-class women wait-listed for courses in karate and the Israeli martial art krav maga.

But for all the efforts being made to safeguard women against harassment, even the major statutes against sexual harassment in India have proven troublesome. Activists have been quick to point out that the laws against attacking the “modesty” of women do more to regulate women’s behavior than safeguard their rights.

Pratiksha Baxi, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and one of India’s foremost experts on sexual harassment, remains skeptical of the ordinances. “The provisions aim at regulating women’s sexuality rather than protecting their autonomy or their right to be in public spaces without being harassed or raped,” Ms. Baxi says.

For those who speak out against sexual harassment on India’s streets, there is the knowledge that the consequences of protest have occasionally been deadly. Last year, the wife of a prominent Lucknow politician was shot when she tried to stop a group of men from harassing her daughter-in-law. In 2003, a Kolkata (Calcutta) police officer was beaten to death when he tried to stop five colleagues from harassing a woman who was riding a motorcycle.

And in spite of the increasing efforts to combat “eve-teasing,” the onus is still largely on Indian women to restrict their own movement to avoid harassment. “I don’t step out of the house alone after 9:30 [p.m.], if I can help it,” says Suparna Kudesia, a 20-year-old education student from New Delhi, citing countless incidents of being flashed or groped.

“Even when there’s no harassment, women are prepared for it,” she says. “Having to be constantly on alert takes its toll.”

Efforts of groups like the Blank Noise Project and Jagori are highlighting “eve-teasing’s” pervasiveness. If public spaces are slowly growing less intimidating 60 years after independence, harassment remains a frustrating fact of life for Indian women.

“Things have gotten better and worse at the same time,” says Ritambhara Mehta, a gregarious 20-year-old political science student from New Delhi. Since her early teens, even a short ride has meant dealing with unwanted advances or comments.

“Sometimes it’s easier to say something,” she says, recalling the times when she’s protested, “but sometimes, words don’t come out.” Despite some bad experiences, however, Ms. Mehta has resolved not to let herself be intimidated.

“For me,” she adds, “not going out can’t be the solution – if we all get scared and sit at home, nothing will change.”

MYCATPRESS