Genocide in India 11-3-2015

3, November 2015                Genocide in India

During the Vedic era, a matriarchal society existed when Indian women were honored and respected epitomized by the goddesses Lakshmi, Durga and Sarasvati and put on pedestals of glory. This concept was reinforced by the common belief, 'Yatra Naryastu Pujyante, Ramante Tatra Devta' - where woman are worshiped, God resides.

With the dawn of ‘civilization’, much has changed with new rules, customs and dogmas replacing the old Vedic traditions. Male dominance quickly supplanted  female societal roles and they quickly lost their ‘life, liberty and pursuit of happiness’. 

The 'Nari tu Narayani' woman worshiped as a goddess turned out to be a slave who suffered abuse by a partriachical society.

The many decades of oppression of girls and women was the theme of ‘Petals in the Dust (PID)’, a documentary shown at the South Asian Film Festival last Sunday. It highlights the challenges facing the class of endangered people in modern India - the vanishing female population. Whereas most of the present day focus has been on Prime Minister Modi and India’s burgeoning economy, scant attention has been paid to the plight of women. In a patriarchal society that focuses far too much attention on the value of boys, girls have been marginalized and many are snuffed out before they even gasp their first breath.

A staggering 50 million women have been murdered in the last century; that is higher than the combined fatalities in World War 1 & II, a sad indictment of a nation that boasts of being the epicenter of spirituality. A few other alarming statics; India ranks as the world's fourth most dangerous country for a woman behind Saudi Arabia and the most dangerous country in the world for female visitors; about half a million female fetuses are aborted every year; nearly half of India's girls are married off before the age of 18.

Sikhs who engage in these hideous pracices should be especially ashamed. This is a clear violation of the basic tenet of Sikhism. Guru Nanak, the founder and all succeeding Gurus vigorously promoted complete gender equality.  

Not a single religious or political leader has championed the cause of women which has allowed this genocide to continue.

PIF examines the plight of women in modern India and dispels the myth that such criminal behavior is only confined to poor or low caste families. On the contrary, female infanticide is especially prevalent in upper middle class families.

The root cause of the problem is a patriarchal mindset which favors boys over girls.

The PID filmmaker spent 7 years researching the plight of girls and women and concluded that they continue to lose their lives to infanticide, sex-selective abortions, starvation, medical neglect, dowry deaths and brutal gang rapes. The declining female population is also leading to increased crimes against women including trafficking and bride purchasing. If current practices continue it is estimated that by 2020 there will be 20 percent more men than women. The highly lucrative ultra sound clinics play a major role in abortions and infanticides.

The girls ‘fortunate’ to survive selective abortions, are usually relegated to subordinate roles – denied educational opportunities and condemned to a life of menial work and early marriage.

The skewed gender imbalance has led to wife sharing, trafficking, and bride purchasing. If this trend is allowed to continue, there will be 20 percent more men than women by 2020.

There are certain Indian customs which reinforces male superiority and must be rejected.

SATI The insidious practice of widows throwing themselves on their husband’s funeral pyre. This sends a strong message that a widow’s life has been foreclosed following their husband’s death. Although, the practice is outlawed and illegal it occurs up to the present day and is still regarded by some Hindus as the ultimate form of womanly devotion and sacrifice.

Widows often shorn their hair,  and retire to ashrams to lead lives of poverty and destitution following the death of their husbands. This further reinforces the subordinate role of women.

The film explores the cultural origins of this vast genocidal crime and includes the voices of activists and gender experts. The harrowing stories of young survivors who appeared in the film were forced to endure years of physical, mental and sexual abuse. One woman described suffering multiple jaw fractures from her upper middle class ‘cultured’ husband. One of the most gruesome acts of infanticide showed fetuses being tossed to an angry mob of snarling dogs. There were loud gasps of outrage and many of the audience turned their faces away.

FID delivers a strong message calling for a reversal of current practices. In a panel discussion following the showing of the film, the speakers spoke passionately of the urgent need for change and reinforced much of the points raised by PID. One of the speakers called attention to the practice of  Karwa Chauth, a Hindu fasting ritual practiced by wives to bless their husbands with a long and prosperous life. Few husbands reciprocate the ritual for their wife’s. Thus, the ritual only perpetuates unhealthy male dominance. To see a trailer of PID go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0QyZEY1UF4.