Why A BBC Documentary has caused Public Outrage in India
India’s Daughter is a BBC documentary that talks about the gruesome 2012 rape of a 23 year old physiotherapy intern who later succumbed to her ghastly injuries. In the documentary, the makers interview one of the accused, Mukesh Singh, who has no remorse for his actions and chillingly makes statements that reveal the disgusting mindset men and women in India possess. When asked if he held onto any remorse, Mukesh Singh said:
“A decent girl won’t roam around at nine o’clock at night. A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy.”
“Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes. About 20% of girls are good.”
And as if all of this was not enough, his chilling final words were:
“The death penalty will make things even more dangerous for girls. Now when they rape, they won’t leave the girl like we did. They will kill her. Before, they would rape and say, ‘Leave her, she won’t tell anyone.’ Now when they rape, especially the criminal types, they will just kill the girl. Death.”
The entire country is in uproar and the government has decided to ban the documentary from being shown on any Indian channels. In response, the BBC has cleverly released it on YouTube and millions have seen it.
Mukesh Singh’s words are egregious and impossible to fathom. I cannot grasp how someone can utter these words and have such an abominable mindset. This documentary is only reaffirming. Most of the world is seeing it for the first time and hence there is a mighty degree of culture shock associated with it. But this culture shock is granted to those who have the privilege of living lives detached from it. As an Indian woman, I have lived this mindset for many years of my life. Sadly, when I heard these bone chilling words, I didn’t even break a sweat. Despite their haunting message, the words were routine, they were reality.
Mukesh Singh is one of millions of Indian men who harbors the thoughts that women belong in the kitchen and are only meant to cook, clean and raise children. Going to a bar, a movie or a club with friends or a male partner who is not family is simply not acceptable. In the documentary, one of his lawyers says,
“You are talking about man and woman as friends. Sorry, that doesn’t have any place in our society. We have the best culture. In our culture, there is no place for a woman.”
Sadly, most women in India have lived these statements. We have lived the attitude that shows us in unequivocal terms that we are second class citizens, inferior to men and we have to abide by their rules or face extremely harsh consequences. What Mukesh Singh and his lawyers said is not an isolated incident by any means but proof that this mindset is promulgated throughout the country and at all echelons of society. It does not exist only in the slums of Delhi but is possessed by politicians, rich people, educated people and everyone in between.
India’s Daughter is more than the 2012 gang rape. For me it is a much broader discussion about basic women’s rights. While being raped and molested are horrible crimes, this documentary brings up the basic right of consent and expression. I agree that these issues are worldwide - women everywhere suffer from the problem of being heckled at what they wear and how they wear it but - but the size and strength of this problem is immeasurable in India. In a country where a woman cannot even cross the street without being badgered, the conversation is not only about stopping rapes but defending basic safety and rights. It about making people understand a woman has rights. She has self agency. It is about the mindset which allows a boy to get more milk than a girl because he is more valuable or kill a girl fetus or a girl child the moment she is born. It is about how to rid the possibility of being groped in public at all times and how to stop the man from constantly acting upon his desires.
The ongoing debate on this topic in India has to feature the role women play in bringing women down because many times the perpetrating party is a mother, mother-in-law or sister-in-law. It has to feature the damage this mindset has caused over the years and how not talking about it and pretending it does not exist is destroying the country.
India’s Daughter is an extremely vulgar insight into a country and its people. Mukesh Singh, his accomplices and their lawyers are all a product of India’s society. They were not born with these attitudes but saw them everywhere and learned them. They were taught it is acceptable to slap a woman if she does not do your bidding or light a woman on fire if she has pre-marital sex. They saw these attitudes practiced everywhere around them. So what they said is not that alarming when their thoughts simply represent the majority of the country.
Banning a documentary because of what was said in it is not going to change a damn thing. In fact, I am glad this documentary was made because now it is out in the open – for the entire world to see – how India treats her women. If people are angry because of what Mukesh Singh and his lawyers said, the solution is to reflect on their attitudes and alter them. That’s the only way we can ensure such events will not occur in the future. That’s the only way things will start to change.
This article first appeared on skirtcollective.com
