INADEQUATE JUSTICE TO WOMEN: A CONSEQUENCE OF THE AGE-OLD
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NOVATEUR PUBLICATIONS
JournalNX- A Multidisciplinary Peer Reviewed Journal
ISSN No: 2581 - 4230
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 6, June. -2021
INADEQUATE JUSTICE TO WOMEN: A CONSEQUENCE OF THE AGE-OLD
PATRIARCHY
Shobha Singh Thakur
Designation- Assistant Professor of law,
Kalinga University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
Deshant Singh Thakur
Designation-BALLB, Pandit Ravishankar University
“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the whole world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.”
(1) – Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.
ABSTARCT: one needs to understand the origin and causes of
As we touch the 73rd year of Indian it, thus, in this limb of the article, we have tried
independence, the injustice against women to draw the reader’s attention to the social
only seems to increase. The question arises positioning of women in ancient India in order to
as to who is actually accountable for the pain understand the origin of rape culture in India. In
of every other woman who is raped, a culture where the Devadasi system, the Sati
assaulted, sodomized or burned to death Pratha have been so prevalent, we think it is but
every 21 minutes, regardless of her age, caste natural for a condition like this to arise. Since
or creed. Today, India, ironically symbolized time immemorial, women in India have been
as mother India, stands to be one of the most looked upon as second grade citizens, regardless
insecure countries for women. In spite of of what the constitution of our country provides.
that, the punishments for outraging the The ancient Indian system appears to be flawed
modesty of women do not include chemical when it comes to building an egalitarian society.
castration, bobbitization or death sentence. This senseof inequality has been passed on to us
Through this article, we have aimed to by our ancestors and has, as result, become
shed light on the fact that the government of deeply rooted in our minds.
our country has faltered in providing
adequate justice to women whose lives have THE GRADUAL TRANSITION IN THE STATUS
been destroyed. We have tried linking the OF INDIAN WOMEN:
shortcomings of our government with the The economy of a country serves as it
age-old patriarchal system. We have laid underpins. Monetary possessions determine the
emphasis on the fact that every government power of an individual. Even in ancient India,
officer is just as responsible for the pain of an economy played a major role and determined the
Indianwoman as is a stalker, rapist or any social positioning of women.
other man who tries to outrage her modesty, Indian history can be divided into three
as they all arethe products of our impaired fragments, namely- Early, Medieval and Modern.
society and its principles and hence, share Each limb has witnessed different roles and
the same patriarchal ideology. statuses of women. The plight of the Indian
females was a result of nothing but the invasions
THE SOCIAL POSITION OF WOMEN IN ANCIENT of different communities, which through their
INDIA: respective ideologies and cultures attacked our
To understand the flaws in any system, golden, egalitarian society.
347 | P a g eNOVATEUR PUBLICATIONS
JournalNX- A Multidisciplinary Peer Reviewed Journal
ISSN No: 2581 - 4230
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 6, June. -2021
In the primitive Indian society, the system. The birth of this evil system blew the
condition of Indian women was much better conch shell of the superiority of men over
than other primitive cultures or communities women. By 1000 BC, several advancements had
across the globe. Rather, it was beyond what we started taking place in agriculture. Plough was
could have expected or imagined. Women played invented. This invention eliminated the
a crucial role in the society as mothers. They significance of women as productive
were not only in charge of the household chores participants in the economy. This transition in
but they also participated in the agricultural the division of labor put men in a favorable
work along with men. Their participation in both position as all the significant developments now
agricultural and domestic work, was viewed as a took place under their sphere. With this new
major contribution to the economic production advancement, man assumed the ownership of
of the society. Thus, they were highly respected the economic means of production. As a result,
by all. They were indeed equal to men and the females could only share the wealth of males
walked shoulder to shoulder with them, be it and thus, did not have any control overit. This
contributing to the economy or attaining was the first instance of dependency of women.
education. Such was the egalitarian Indian Secondly, the Varna system introduced
society. lower castes and hence, slavery came into
However, the advent of the Aryans can be existence. All the lowly activities were now
considered as the beginning of the end of performed by these slaves. The agricultural tasks
freedom enjoyed by women. The Aryans brought which could havebeen given to women were now
with them, the idea of a patriarchal society. a responsibility of the lower classes. This
Although women were still enjoying their rights practice confined women to their households.
as before, but this idea of male dominance was Thirdly, polygamy was introduced. A man
somewhere planted in the minds of people, brought female slaves, concubines and other
which turned into a bigger evil afterwards. wives despite the existence of his first wife. This
The Aryan society also advocated a resulted in distribution of authority of a single
simple division of labour between the two sexes, womanand the power that she formerly enjoyed
whereby, women were given the domestic over the domestic activities was now dissipated.
responsibilities whereas men found them in- The situation worsened when the women
charge of hunting and food gathering. Through were deprived of their right to education. The
such division of labor, women still enjoyed people were of the view that the age of marriage
authority over an important sphere of the of the girls shall be reduced. This ended
economy and thus, did not lose their importance possibilities for girls’ education. Ancient
completely. Equal education was given to both scriptures such as the YajnavalkyaSmriti states
males and females (Upanayana and that a girl should be married before puberty
Bramhacharya). Sarvanukrantika, an ancient otherwise the guardians were to be held guilty of
scripture, suggests that out of the authors of the destruction of embryo every month. In
Rig-Veda (India’soldest religious scripture) addition to that, the Manu smriti states – “In
twenty were women. This depicts that woman childhood, a woman must be subject to her
could attain formal education and scholastic father, in youth to her husband and when her
training. Lord is dead, to her sons. Awoman must never
Nonetheless, such liberty and freedom be independent.” Such ideology was threatening
could not last longer and it was snatched from for the widows. Although the Sati system,
the women through the introduction of the caste wherein a woman sacrificed herself by sitting
348 | P a g eNOVATEUR PUBLICATIONS
JournalNX- A Multidisciplinary Peer Reviewed Journal
ISSN No: 2581 - 4230
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 6, June. -2021
atop her deceased husband’s funeral pyre, was objectification of women was inevitable. The
absent but by the 8th century, this custom was women who did not have security on the
heavily practiced as due to the death of their economic front, that is, theydid not have a male
husbands and abolition of widow remarriage, guardian, had to yield to prostitution. Some texts
the widows were only considered asa burden on have also mentioned that a girl who was raped
the society. by a man, was socially ostracized as she was not
Worse came to worse when the Muslims considered eligible to get married and thus, had
invaded the country in the 11th century. The to yield to prostitution. Another channel
Koranic interpretations deprived women of their through which women enteredthis profession
liberty and this corresponded to the prevalent was them being given away to priests, guests
conditions in India. The Muslims introduced the or Brahmins as gifts on special religious or
purdah system (seclusion of women), polygamy secular occasions. In fact, the social status of
andunilateral right of divorce for men. On the top women was degraded to such alarming levels
of it, they completely debarred women from the that they were exchanged in form of daksinas
religious and legal affairs. (sacrificial fees to officiating priests).
In the early 19th century, the British The prostitutes did not have any personal
liberal reformism did uproot some evils from the liberty. Their body did not belong to them but the
Indian society but they could not change the king of that particular territory. If a king ordered
mindset of Indians. And this is something that a prostitute to serve a man, she had to do so.
our society witnesses even today. More than a Failing the orders of the king, she had to face
legislative alteration, our country needs a strict penal provisions.
psychological transition. The ancient texts also relate that the
prostitutes were treated with contempt. They
THE AGONY OF THE PROSTITUTES (GANIKAS): were ostracized from the society and
“Rajajnayapurusamanabhigacchantiganik considered impure. The food offered by them
asiphasahasramlabheta; was not to beeaten. In fact, if any person had a
pancasahasramvadaudah” – Kautilya. sexual intercourse with a prostitute, he had to
The above verse translates to mean that if undergo a purification ceremony.
a prostitute refuses to cohabit with a man, These women were given away as gifts to
despite the orders of the King, she shall receive a Brahmins, along with items like cattle, chariots
thousand lashes with a whip; or pay a fine of etc. These women became a charitable
5000 panas (unit of money). commodity. The Brahmins and their relatives
Well, it would not be wrong to say that the used to enjoy these girls sexually and then
objectification of women has its roots in the subsequently sell them off as slaves. The women
ancient Indian civilization. The mention of also used to come with victories as booty for
prostitution can be found in Rig Veda, India’s serving the king and other government officials.
earliest scripture. The causes of prostitution Post their servitude to the king, they found
were varied but the root cause of this practice themselves in the city’s brothels.
was again, theeconomic dependence of women. All these instances fairly point out to the
India was an agricultural society, wherein the fact that objectification of women has its roots in
woman had no social mobility. She had to depend the ancient Indian history. This ideology that a
upon a male guardian who would look after her woman belongs to her husband or male
needs and thus, she belonged to a man, be it her guardians is minacious. The girls of our country
father, brother or husband. Thus, the are raped every day because the men still believe
349 | P a g eNOVATEUR PUBLICATIONS
JournalNX- A Multidisciplinary Peer Reviewed Journal
ISSN No: 2581 - 4230
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 6, June. -2021
that they are not human beings but merely country as one. Unfortunately, this concept of
objects that are a source of pleasure to them. And egalitarianism is alien to our country.
this is the reason why even a small working boy’s We often accuse the common citizens of our
mother is raped thousand times a day by one and country for rapes, sexual assaults and all other
all, forevery one verbally abuses him, be it the heinous crimes. But this accusation and blaming
owner, his co-worker or a customer. A rickshaw is of no use when those in power are themselves
puller’sdaughter/sister is raped hundred times a guilty of such offences. And why wouldn’t the
day using foul language against him by bikers, government officials commit these crimes?
drivers’ passengers and others even for none of Afterall, they have grown up in the same society
the faults of the poor. We are a culture of sexual as the other men have. All their lives, they have
slurs, ofabuse and rape, of bad language against witnessed their mothers listening to the rants of
women, so much so, that even physical attacks their fathers, being called jobless even after
on women do not seem to be shameful at all. The working all day, their sisters being confined to
children witness these activities every day and their houses. All in all, we have made the men
grow up to eventually become rapists. And then, realize that they are in a better position than
as a society, we react to these incidents in the women and they have more liberty than
ugliest of ways, either by assassinating the women. And in the circumstances where they
character of the victim or blaming her for not cannot bear working under a woman or having
dressingappropriately. to follow her orders, they either molest their
It would not be wrong to say that we wives or rape a girl belonging to a lower social
are a rape culture. The person who commits class just reaffirm their male self-image which
this heinous crime, the policeman who records has been encouraged and internalized since their
the accounts of the incident and the judge who childhood.
sentences therapist, are all the products of this It shan’t be alarming to realize that a lot of
malfunctioned society. They consist of men these men include policemen, soldiers and other
who have been feeding off the patriarchal government officials because the society has
system. If the patriarchal system was not in actually given them the power to do so, firstly,
existence, incidents like the Nirbhaya rape by showering the benefits of the patriarchal
horror would have never occurred. system on them and secondly, by not designing
adequate laws to punish these offenders. In
INFLUENCE OF PATRIARCHY ON THE 2004, in Manipur, a 32-year-old lady named
WORKING OF THE GOVERNMENT: Manorama was taken away from home by the
In a country where men think that it is their soldiers of Assam who accused her of helping
birthright to demean a woman, where a insurgents. A few hours later, her mutilated body
daughter-in- law is treated like a maid but a son- was found on the roadside, her pelvis riddled
in-law is treated like a king, where daughters are with bullets. In 2012, a 14-year-old Sonam was
seen as a burden on their families but sons, as raped and killed inside a police station in Uttar
assets, it is but natural for offences like these to Pradesh. In 1972, in Mathura, a 16-year-old
occur. tribal girl by two policemen inside the police
Our country was not even aware of the station and the rapists were never convicted
concept of women empowerment or equality because the courts said that the girl never raised
betweenmen and women until the constitution an alarm, she was not injured and as she was
was drafted. The very preamble of our sexually active, she would have voluntarily
constitution looks upon every citizen of our consented to the rape. On January 5, 1986,
350 | P a g eNOVATEUR PUBLICATIONS
JournalNX- A Multidisciplinary Peer Reviewed Journal
ISSN No: 2581 - 4230
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 6, June. -2021
Guntaben, a 22-year-old tribal woman was of their dignity or the system would not consider
assaulted in a police truck and again assaulted in their cases. Our country records the highest
the police station where she was kept for two number of rape cases every year yet it is quite
days. On her release, she tried to file a complaint unfortunate that women who are put through
but no one ever lodged the complaint. In fact, she this pain are never empathized with, rather they
was forced to producea false affidavit, denying are ostracized from the society.
any offence committed against her. The Prem It is quite difficult to be able to solve the problem
Chand’s case where agirl who had attempted to in a society which treats its women as “second-
flee with her boyfriend was kept in custody and grade citizens” and regards them as inferior to
whilst that, she was raped by two policemen. The men until the social attitudes change and women
response of the judiciary was even more are respected and treated as equals. As sir
shocking than the incidentitself. The apex court Rabindranath Tagore quoted,
reduced the 10 years’ imprisonment to 5 years
on the grounds that the girl was of a loose “Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its
character as she had tried to flee with her way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
boyfriend. Where the mind is led forward by thee
The one thing that remains common in all Into ever-widening thought and action
these cases of custodial rape is that the girls who Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my
were raped were either financially weak or country awake.”
belonged to a tribal area or the scheduled caste.
Thus, it can be said that it was nothing but an If the legislature of our country includes
attempt by men to reaffirm that we live in a stricter punishments for crimes against women,
patriarchal system and no matter what women success wouldn’t be too far. Fear of getting
achieve, they will always be inferior to men. And chemically castrated or bobbitized will certainly
our ‘remarkable’ judicial system, instead of stop men from committing such heinous crimes.
putting an end to such ideology, encouraged An alteration in law is imperative to assure
it on unreasonable grounds. Sometimes, the safety of women in a country like ours. And, the
courts would reduce the punishments, laws can never be altered until there is a change
sometimes they would let off the accused on the in the thinking of the law-makers.
argument that he, belonging to the upper caste
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VOLUME 7, ISSUE 6, June. -2021
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