Picture this: A woman, leading the state government’s woman rights organisation, holder of the highly responsible and powerful constitutional office, and a known women’s rights activist, is brazenly beaten up while visiting her fellow constitutional office bearer, the chief minister of India’s capital, New Delhi. She is allegedly, roughed up, she is rebuked, manhandled, and physically abused. The case of Swati Maliwal goes beyond the milieu of violence against women; it is rather an attack on the very spirit of women’s empowerment.
The case raises a more important issue that needs to be given fair and impartial consideration regardless of one’s political inclinations. For when one’s vision is clouded by personal biases, preferences, and prejudices, he or she cannot enjoy the audacity of truth. Let us not forget the real issue at hand: the urgent need to confront and eradicate violence against women in all its forms and at all levels, be it domestic violence within the four walls of a house or violence against women within the open corridors of power. For until we do, the spirit of women’s empowerment will remain under siege, and it will remain a distant dream.
Interestingly, the victim perpetrator dynamics in the Swati Maliwal case are akin to those in other cases of violence against women. The purported conduct of the Chief Minister’s aide underscores a flagrant disregard for Swati Maliwal’s autonomy and dignity, culminating in an act of abuse and oppression. Moreover, the attempt by the political party, in this case, the Aam Aadmi Party, to deflect responsibility and discredit the victim, instead of addressing the issue at hand and calling for a fair and impartial investigation, further underscores behavioural challenges in addressing violence against women.
From a victimological lens, the Maliwal case falls under the larger ambit of victim culpability. Drawing from decades of global literature, it is obvious that a pervasive culture of blaming women has been fomented. Bolstered by sexism and misogyny, several aspects of victim blaming have remained central to how a society reacts to and treats violence against women. Perpetuation of rape myths and stereotypes, character assassination, victim-shaming, gaslighting, social adherence to beliefs in a just world, and attribution bias, are various means of mortifying female victims and casting doubts on their victimisation, sometimes even within their own minds. These are nefarious but powerful tools used by oppressors and perpetrators for self preservation and justification.
Sadly, Maliwal’s high office as a Member of Parliament and her role in advocating for women’s rights did not exempt her from vulnerability to violence and bearing the brunt of double victimisation: being discredited and not offered a chance at justice. Instead, her position may have exacerbated the impact of the assault and added layers of complexity to the case, including potential political motivations and power dynamics at play.
In a country where key portfolios in cabinet have been held by women, the 17th Lok Sabha for example, has the highest ever number of women MPs, underscores the importance lent to women’s representation in positions of power. However, it also serves as a reminder that this gender parity must entrench every level of governance and every level of society. Gender-based violence transcends political affiliations and social constructs. Political parties, as microcosms of society, have a responsibility to address and condemn violence against women unequivocally, regardless of the political implications.
The entire scenario also raises certain key questions on the larger political ecosystems in the political units of the country, the Aam Adami Party, in this case. Are women really accorded the opportunities to rise to the highest levels of authority? Was a political aide, so empowered that he could gather the impudence to physically assault a woman much higher in position and standing than him? Is this indicative of the larger gender dynamics within a political unit? Is it a representation of the fact that women’s leadership in some political parties of India has more to do with mere window dressing than imbibing it as a norm and as part of the larger culture? Is it somewhere part of the belief system of a political unit that it may consciously or unconsciously perpetuate among its constituents?
The implications of this dastardly act extend beyond the immediate context of the incident. They have the potential to reverberate throughout society, influencing public perceptions of women in leadership roles and the broader women empowerment movement. By holding perpetrators accountable and challenging victim-blaming narratives, society can work towards dismantling systemic barriers and fostering a culture of gender equality and respect for women’s rights.
The Swati Maliwal case serves as a sobering reminder of the urgent need to address violence against women in all its forms. It underscores the importance of intersectional approaches that consider the overlapping factors of gender, power, and politics. By interrogating societal norms and holding not just the perpetrators but the enablers as well, accountable, we can strive towards a more just and equitable society for all.
