NO tragedy in recent times has been covered so extensively and with such a high degree of emotive feeling as the comments on the heinous gang rape of a young woman in Delhi. What has shocked the media as much are the comments by two politicians on the event, one of them being a Congress MP, Abhijit Mukherji and another, a CPM leader, Anisur Rehman. “Their utterances” said The Indian Express (December 29) have revealed a mindset which has shown no evidence of culture. “Even the on-going nation-wide outrage about the Delhi incident hasn’t sensitised them about the dignity of women, pointing to the mental level of brutes.”
The paper said “the patriarchal outlook belonging to a bygone age has yet to die down” and “it is up to the society to eradicate such an attitude.”
Economic Times (December 29) condemned Abhijeet Mukherji for his “misogynist remarks” and said “he is not alone amongst politicians and law-makers in expressing biased and sexist opinions about women”. The Congress, said the paper “has to take action against its members who spout this toxic rhetoric” and it called upon the party president to take “measures to make party members more sensitive to gender issues and take action against those who cross the line.”
Deccan Herald (December 29) said Mukherjee’s sexist remarks are part of a long line of offensive comments that politicians cutting across party lines have made about women and noted that “a misogynist mind-set is always of concern”.
What the country needs, said the paper, is “changing mindsets of all sections of our society” and “involves getting rid of a culture that seems masculinity as synonymous with subjugation of women.” However, said the paper, “misogyny is not a male prerogative” and women, too, “carry gender related prejudices”.
The Hindu (December 29) said Mukherjee has painted himself into “a wretched and abject corner” and his “insincere apology does little to erase the sexist nature of his remarks.” Additionally it said that while “in a society where crimes against females are rampant, proper legislation and implementation of laws are paramount”, it is “also extremely important to change social attitudes towards women.” Concluding, it said that “going by the remarks made over the last few days, we need to start at the very top – with the very people who seek to govern us.”
Hindustan Times (December 31) said “the government needs to be pro-active and keep the promises that it made to the nation, after the incident” and demanded “better policing, downsizing to VIP security, a better trained force, improved technology for safety, stringent laws and changing mind-sets.” What must be remembered, hinted the paper, is that “the outpouring of grief and anger, off-line and on-line, was not a sudden event…. But has been simmering for sometime.”
The Asian Age (December 30) said that the death of the gang rape victim is “a bolt on the character of the nation” and “the time to act on the issue of women’s rights is now.” Expressing its own anger and dismay, the paper said that “the inertia of the government…. only reinforced the perception in people that they were dealing with an arrogant government increasingly removed from the pulse of the public sentiment.” The paper said that “the number of rapes recorded after December 16 is a clear sign that not even the fear of stringent laws has changed the pattern of the carnal desire of man finding despicable outlets in sexual harassment or outright rape of women and children.”
The Telegraph (December 30) said “there are good reasons for hopelessness and despair” considering that “the reaction of the people who run the country to the rape was slow in coming and it took the Prime Minister eight days to issue a statement… that was bland beyond belief.” It blamed Rahul Gandhi for being “conspicuous by his silence and his invisibility.” “It is too much to expect a little more sensitivity from every one?” the paper asked.
DNA (December 29) said that “what we are experiencing now is no less than a revolution” and “suddenly the man and woman on the street have become part of a larger cause.” “If women continue to be stalked, grouped and raped, we have no right to call ourselves human beings,” said the paper.
‘Hawk’s Eye’, a senior commentator in The Free Press Journal said “clearly, the Central Government’s response to the rape and its aftermath has been utterly inadequate.” Said Hawk’s Eye: “Our MPs, MLAs and corporators have got too accustomed to being treated as privileged citizens which is why they are moving farther and farther from the ground realities of how those who elect them live and survive. They need to be brought down to earth.” He added: “It is all very well to amend the law to provide for more stringent punishment for rapists but when will we reach a stage when all will, in actual fact, be equal before law?”
Economic and Political Weekly (December 29) thought that “the horrifying rape in Delhi defies understanding, but as part of a struggle for a different public culture, women need to overcome their fears and occupy more, rather than fewer public spaces.” The weekly said that “rape invokes the primitive and reminds us that the veneer of our civilization remains thin and fragile.”
S Balakrishnan, editor of Deshbhakti Andolan (December 26) writing in his weekly said “if Sonia Gandhi, who is also the mother of a girl has any sense of concern, she would have straightaway sacked Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.” He called for a special session of Parliament immediately and the amendment to the rape laws which, he said, should be passed without further delay, by including a proviso for capital punishment. “if the Congress does not wake up, then the people will punish it severely not only in the capital but all over the country”, he warned. There is no question that on many issues there has been a certain amount of unanimity in the media but not a single newspaper sought to look within and ask itself whether in its own but unrecognised way, it has been responsible for messing up the psyche of people by publishing pictures of semi-nude girls that a sophisticated set of upper class citizens might accept but could play havoc among people of lower classes. Now is the time for them to give it some deep thought.
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