Addressing a gethering at Asmita Resource Centre for Women organised a programme on International Women’s Day celebnrations at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Hyderabad. She said that girls and women are being violated in trains, buses and streets. Even if the perpetrators are caught they are not punished as per the law. Who will be responsible for the woman on the street and how can we stop this violence.
Satyavati is a writer and founder member of the first feminist magazine in Andhra Pradesh, Bhumika. She has won a national award for gender sensitivity in media by UNFPA in 2008. She started her talk with a few questions -- Where are we? How far have we come? What have we accomplished? We need to celebrate this day but we must ask who is this development reaching? Are women at the receiving end? Due to globalization in the state since 1990’s a lot has changed in terms of technology but the NCRB records show a high incidence of violence against women. Every few minutes, hours, there are cases of acid attack, displacement, rape in the country. We have emphasized the need for laws to protect women like Section 498A which has been misused according to many. She spoke about the PCPNDT Act and its poor implementation, which has resulted in low sex ratio in Andhra. She also stressed on the role of the police and the denial to lodge FIR’s in cases of violence.
Jhansi Geddam, Convener at Dalit Sthree Sakthi which is a community-based organisation fighting for the rights of dalit women addressed the gathering. She has run many campaigns and actively fought the discrimination and violence faced by dalit women and girls. She strives towards the freedom, equality, and rights of dalit women. She asked, “How long will be keep talking about violence? How many mindsets and government sets will we change? There are 1000 cases of Nirbhaya in the state of Andhra Pradesh which are equally relevant but we do not hear their stories. Triveni, a 13 year old girl was gang raped in Borbanda and in Tenali a girl died due to acid attack. We do not know these stories. There is an exclusion of Muslim, minorities, Dalit and Aadivasis. She also narrated the lack of discussion on cases of violence against Muslim, Dalit and Aadivasi women. The media, police and political parties play dual roles and have failed to do their duty. Crores of rupees are allocated for women under the women and child and social welfare ministry which does not reach the women."
Keshav Rado Jadhav is a human rights activist. He also teaches at the English department of Osmania University. He is also actively involved in the Telangana movement. Referring to Sita he said that the notion of purity is only discussed when it comes to women. “In leadership it has always been men. In Muslim History, Razia was the Queen of Delhi and was dethroned soon. All religions are equally oppressive and deny women equal rights,” he added. Referring to the Telangana struggle he mentioned that three dalit women who struggled for separate state were arrested and following this 25,000 women came out to fight and were sent to jail. According to him women are as intelligent as men but are restricted and denied basic freedoms.
Dr. Prashanti and Jajula Gauri also spoke about their varied experiences. She is the project director of Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samatha Society (APMSS). APMSS works towards the empowerment of women through education. It is under the Mahila Samakhya programme of Government of India. She asked, “When the system doesn’t respond what do we do and whom do we turn too? There are laws and they are working, amendments are being made in laws but what are the immediate solutions. Mahila Samkhaya experience has shown that response of panchayat has been positive. Non literate woman working as para legal workers has been able to take the laws to the people. In Warangal Nelakutur mandal women trained as para legal workers have formed nyaaya committees to address cases of child marriages, sex selection. These women wear purple sarees and travel across the mandal to address cases of VAW. The women see them and seek support. We need to support each other, form pressure groups to fight against violence.”
Jajula Gauri is a noted dalit Telugu writer who has published a number of short stories. She referred to the Justice Verma Committee Recommendations and flagged three sections of the Indian Penal code section 100, 376A and section 375. She spoke of the insensitivity of the police while recording cases of sexual violence. Violence is perpetrated against children as young as 2 years old. She also referred to the recent sexual harassment act and violence against women in the workplace, which is on the rise. She also discussed the delay in recording cases of violence, due to jurisdictional issues where the police demand proof to file FIR’s in cases of violence against women. The case of Nirbhaya was dealt with in a short duration, unlike other cases which take much longer.
Tirupatamma is the secretary of Chaitanya Vikalangula Hakkula Vedika (CVHV). CVHV works towards enabling human rights and strengthening the rights of persons with disabilities. She said that her counseling centre has taken up 40 cases of violence against women and children but the police did not respond. They referred these cases to Human Rights Commission and the State Commission for Women, but there was inadequate response from them. They have also filed a case of Sexual harassment by a District judge on a girl. The case was referred to the State Human rights Commission and State Commission for Women. She narrated her experience with the police in Mahbubnagar who focus on the character of the victim rather than the violence by the perpetrators.
Santoshi Rani Karamcheti is the assistant state coordinator of Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR). The organisation works in the area of advocating with media on the response to HIV- through prevention, care and support services. CFAR also seeks to address the structural barriers that impact marginalized communities, and the violence, stigma and discrimination faced by them. She shared the findings of the survey conducted by CFAR. The cases ranged from child marriages to aggravated forms of violence; both subtle and extreme cases were shared. In Guntur a woman’s both hands were cut off by her husband and the children were watching the crime. She also spoke about a case where the abusive husband is in jail but the woman can still hear his threats and feels unsafe.
Transgenders are another vulnerable group who survive on alms and are generally seen on the train. Violence by the police has been on the rise. 40 Transgender persons were unlawfully arrested by the police while travelling from Warangal to Kagaznagar. A case was registered against them and then they were forcefully examined in the hospital. They were told that the examination was to ascertain whether they were male or female. They were stripped in public and when Medical doctors and police both are insensitive and abet these acts of violence, whom do we turn to for support.
Over 150 participants from 40 NGOs of the districts and around 30 representatives from local NGOs actively took part in the discussions and interacted with the speakers. They discussed a wide range of topics including the recent gang rape case in Delhi, the harassment of the girl on the streets of Guwahati, the increasing numbers of violence against women from Dalit, Adivasi and Minority communities and the recommendations by the Justice Verma Committee following the Delhi gang rape.
A short film called Moggalu screened, produced by Asmita, based on a girl who has to fight against child marriage. The film discusses the ills of child marriage and the laws pertinent to it. The film focused on the role of teachers in enabling young girls to fight child marriages. Later, a performance by the cultural group from Chaitanya Vikalangula Hakkula Vedika thrilled by audiences, the group act tackled the realities of child marriage.
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