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| A year after December 16, |
| A year after December 16, the need to shift the conversation
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| INDIA
, 16-December-2013
3:12:55 AM |
| Mihira Sood has been litigating in Delhi for the past six years and is currently pursuing her LLM at Columbia Law School.
Last month, she wrote this column on how she - and many other young women -are exposed to sexual harassment in "one of India's most sexist professions."
Here, her take on the Delhi gang-rape case.
The horrific rape and murder of a young girl last year shook the country. People were angry, laws were amended, change was in the air. A year later is a good time to evaluate what, if anything, has really changed, and what direction we need to take.
Discourse has changed. Whether on online fora, through the mass media, conversations with the auto driver, within families, there is a renewed vigor with which gender issues are discussed, a broader vocabulary and range of ideas, a heightened assertiveness and a visibly more supportive environment for women's rights.
There is a welcome political correctness being generated. The media has redeemed itself in large part, from the days of prurient details of clothing and sexual history, to a conscious effort to be responsible and sensitive.
Women are gaining the confidence to speak out when they have been harassed or violated, challenging not only the men who count on their silence, but also the stigma that silence breeds. Yes many women prefer anonymity even when they are being vocal, but that is more out of concern for their privacy than for their reputation.
However, the willingness to change which initially seemed to carry the power of a revolution, is now revealing itself to be rather limited. Yes women's safety is important, but safety and protection are not ends in themselves, they are (one of) the means to empowerment. Unless we shift the conversation from protection to empowerment, we will be doing the cause of gender justice a great disservice.
The path of baby steps carries the enormous risk of having fought for too little, and having to settle for what we asked for,
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