A few weeks ago I met up with some female friends for dinner. One of them, who was in town for a wedding and was staying about an hour outside of Delhi, had hired a driver for the day. The male friend she was visiting said she should try to get back to her area by 10 p.m.
But she wanted to have drinks with us. She told the driver to take us to a specific bar. The time was nearing 9 p.m. He reminded her that her friend suggested she be home by 10 p.m. She said screw it. He started talking about the safety issue for women, particularly outside of Delhi. Apparently we're not supposed to be out late by ourselves. He talked about women get attacked, that it had been in the newspapers. We said we hadn't heard about it. He said we were lucky.
When we got out of the car we all scoffed. Ethel said Indian men try to keep women fearful and under their control. The driver's argument was particularly fallacious because, well, the girl wasn't by herself, she was with him and she was in a car. Basically, the driver wanted to go home early.
But I learned today he's right in some areas: according to this article, there have been numerous rapes against women in Gurgaon, a booming industrial city just outside of Delhi. And worse than that, the police's tactic to fix this seems to rely on making women more afraid (Headline: Gurgaon: 'Stay indoors after 8pm if you don't want to be raped').
The article, which is admittedly opinionated, notes, "So if you become a target of criminals on the city streets, blame yourself for venturing out after 8pm - and not the Gurgaon Police.
This is what Gurgaon administration reportedly said on Wednesday after the twin rape cases rocked the city. Washing its hands off the twin rapes in the city, the Gurgaon administration has told women not to move out and instead stay home after 8pm."
On top of that, the police "has also asked the women folks not to work beyond 8 in the evening so as to ensure their safety...it has also directed all malls and commercial establishments to take permission from the Labour Department to have their women employees working beyond 8 pm."
I hate the implication that this is somehow the woman's fault, that by walking around or working after 8 p.m., it's somehow her fault if she gets raped. It makes me think of the term "Eve teasing" as a euphemism for sexual harassment, and how it implies that the woman somehow asked for the harassment. India has a ways to go before women achieve true equity. For the record, I walk out all the time after 8 p.m. and I am not asking to be raped.
See also: Dealing with Indian men who think foreign women are sluts (2/5/12)
'Eve teasing'--AKA sexual harassment--in India (1/26/12)
But she wanted to have drinks with us. She told the driver to take us to a specific bar. The time was nearing 9 p.m. He reminded her that her friend suggested she be home by 10 p.m. She said screw it. He started talking about the safety issue for women, particularly outside of Delhi. Apparently we're not supposed to be out late by ourselves. He talked about women get attacked, that it had been in the newspapers. We said we hadn't heard about it. He said we were lucky.
When we got out of the car we all scoffed. Ethel said Indian men try to keep women fearful and under their control. The driver's argument was particularly fallacious because, well, the girl wasn't by herself, she was with him and she was in a car. Basically, the driver wanted to go home early.
But I learned today he's right in some areas: according to this article, there have been numerous rapes against women in Gurgaon, a booming industrial city just outside of Delhi. And worse than that, the police's tactic to fix this seems to rely on making women more afraid (Headline: Gurgaon: 'Stay indoors after 8pm if you don't want to be raped').
The article, which is admittedly opinionated, notes, "So if you become a target of criminals on the city streets, blame yourself for venturing out after 8pm - and not the Gurgaon Police.
This is what Gurgaon administration reportedly said on Wednesday after the twin rape cases rocked the city. Washing its hands off the twin rapes in the city, the Gurgaon administration has told women not to move out and instead stay home after 8pm."
On top of that, the police "has also asked the women folks not to work beyond 8 in the evening so as to ensure their safety...it has also directed all malls and commercial establishments to take permission from the Labour Department to have their women employees working beyond 8 pm."
I hate the implication that this is somehow the woman's fault, that by walking around or working after 8 p.m., it's somehow her fault if she gets raped. It makes me think of the term "Eve teasing" as a euphemism for sexual harassment, and how it implies that the woman somehow asked for the harassment. India has a ways to go before women achieve true equity. For the record, I walk out all the time after 8 p.m. and I am not asking to be raped.
See also: Dealing with Indian men who think foreign women are sluts (2/5/12)
'Eve teasing'--AKA sexual harassment--in India (1/26/12)
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