Another woman has been raped in India. This time she is part of the crime statistics because she happens to be a foreigner, a traveler, a vlogger and most importantly, still alive to tell the tale. It will be difficult to ignore the crime. As I have said elsewhere about travel, it is also a privilege to be put on the crime register. However, no one wants to hold their breath for it. The Spanish woman, raped and abused, faces a long ordeal together with her partner in her search for justice.
The incident has caused a stir on social media, with most mainstream news outlets still hungover after a week of pre-wedding festivities. Women and men from all over the world share their experiences traveling in India. From globally renowned academics to young students, almost everyone has an unpleasant India story. Though we should collectively be drowning in the Indian Ocean of shame, some of us are fighting bravely for the honor of the country. From the usual 'not all men', the defense is now 'not all India'.
A project to defend national honor
Really, fellow countrymen? When we point out that some places are more unsafe than others – as most of the Hindi-speaking belt is believed to perform worse on the safety index than Tamil Nadu or Kerala – we lose the argument before we even start it. Let's not even talk about the excessive parochialism that comes with it. The greatest irony in India's grand defense project is that its fighters are calling out critics for 'racism'.
I have now visited more than twenty countries on five different continents. This is a privilege. The only time I have been sexually harassed is in my own country. This is a sad reality. Our privileges take us far, but fall apart at home – that is the irony of every privileged Indian woman's life. No one is safe on our streets. Our privileges give us a protective blanket that can be blown away by the storm of someone's greater privileges. Or an accident.
A dysfunctional society
Accidents can happen to anyone, anywhere. The aftermath of an accident is what separates a functional society from a dysfunctional one. When actions and words focus more on telling the victim how they could have avoided the accident or how they should respond to it than on addressing the cause, it is a sign of a dysfunctional society. In the case of sexual violence against women, this display of brokenness and dysfunction is like deja vu.
Another interesting phenomenon of our time is the unprecedented degree of party politics regarding sexual violence. I have always maintained that sexual violence must be politicized, especially in a country like ours where electoral politics is both the bane and the blessing of our daily lives. Victims only deserve attention and action if they are electorally important. But these days, no one – from Manipur to Sandeshkhali – seems to matter.
Politics about sexual violence
Political bickering over sexual violence has not made India safer for women. In fact, quite the opposite. Despite the loud calls for social change and systemic reforms, India has not become safer. Women have just learned to live with the risks. The fear of sexual violence is likely one of the factors driving women's social mobility. Women already know which places, people or situations to avoid if they want to stay safe from rape. Whether or not they can is a function of privilege. And privilege is also an unreliable accomplice.
All this should give us Indians a punch in the gut. It does not. Instead, we're busy trying to figure out how the victim in this case escaped violence in the more precarious neighborhood. We already see this as a global conspiracy to defame India. We offer our sympathy with the word 'but' as the suffix. We want to do everything we can to ensure that this does not tarnish our image. We google 'witch burnings' and other cases of violence against women to lobby those Westerners who dare to question the way Indian society treats its women. We do everything we can to protect our honor. Except for one thing: making sure men don't rape women with impunity.
Women move on, not because of, but in spite of, men
Everyone – from governments to families, from corporations to cliques – wants to save their own country. But this concern does not apply to women. Women got it. There is not even a fig leaf that can hide the apathy that accompanies violence against women.
Rape is not the most horrible crime committed on women's bodies. It is certainly the most gendered. Women are now beginning to learn to move past the trauma of sexual violence. No thanks to men in their lives or the larger society.
(Nishtha Gautam is a Delhi-based author and academic)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.