The Cultural Roots of Sexual Violence: A Personal Perspective

This post is purely based on personal observations and opinions.

Rape in this country is not a modern evil but has been prevalent in society since ancient times. We have numerous stories of so-called spiritual rishis and gurus who, on the one hand, teach people not to indulge in sex or kaam, and on the other hand, were the ones raping women in society. It is not an individual-centric crime but has been propagated and promoted by the culture and tradition of this country.

The only thing that has been taught to males through their spiritual guidance is that women are nothing but property to men, and they can use them for sexual and other pleasures. Throughout spiritual literature and history, gurus and rishis have taught the entire population not to experience sexual pleasure. This could be a good guiding principle for a spiritual man but not for a commoner living an ordinary life in society. The spiritual dilemma caused by such ambiguous teachings in this country has led to widespread confusion among males and females. They find themselves in a dilemma about whether to experience sexual pleasure or not. If they do, they would feel guilty of committing an evil act. This confusion creates a huge constraint among males and females in their interactions within civic settings. Oscillating between the dilemma of sexual pleasure gives rise to such a hyper-desire for it that the person cannot control it and resorts to sexual violence to satisfy their needs.

However, sexual violence can take various forms. It can also manifest in the relationships of the higher class and caste toward the lower class and caste to maintain dominance. This is one form of sexual violence, which can be considered structural sexual violence, where social status plays an important role. So far, the definition of sexual violence is limited to the vaginal penetration of any sort. What about the sexual violence occurring in the minds of males 24/7 whenever they see a woman? All they want is to claim dominance and take sexual pleasure from that woman. We will find gurus at every nook and corner of this country who control the entire structure of human social interaction between males and females. All they have taught society is to refrain from indulging in sexual pleasure, which causes a depressing situation among people that eventually leads them to lose control over their sexual desires, resulting in serious violence against women.

Sexual violence against women happens every day under every roof in this country. The reason for this is the lack of morality among males, or the inability to think, differentiate, and empathize with others. What is the normal state of mind of a man toward a woman? It is to seek sexual pleasure with her in any way possible. What can mitigate this? The only way to eradicate this evil from society is to create civic education among people that would give them the mental potential to analyze their first thoughts and evaluate whether they are right or wrong. But that civic sense was never created in this country due to its culture and tradition. Society made no opportunity to let males and females interact socially and peacefully. Interaction among social elements is inevitable, especially between males and females. It is not legally binding, but surely has social, religious, and caste-based sanctions in this country, which have limited interactions among the younger generation. The only way to eradicate this evil from society is to burn all those texts and scriptures that have misled society so far and develop a new phenomenon of interaction, and perhaps even sexual interaction.

It is also true that social division among people has caused sexual distress among different groups in the community. People from upper or urban settings and those from lower or rural areas have very minimal interaction, which has caused mental distress among people from the lower class. The temptation caused by globalization, which has made sexual availability a luxury, drives those who cannot access this luxury to find different ways to obtain sexual pleasure, sometimes leading to sexual violence. It is high time in this country to understand that rape is not a legal problem but a cancer caused by the rotten social and religious structure in this country, which should be fixed immediately, or this menace of sexual violence will continue.

It is also true that men will be of limited use in the women's movement since it is not a hidden fact that men would be looking for an opportunity to win over women sexually by any tactic possible. If men are joining the protests or cause against sexual violence, I am not sure if they are purely devoted to that cause.

Surely sexual violence has other dimensions too. In most cases, it can be observed that women from lower-class or poor families are mostly subject to the menace of sexual violence because they are diffident and easy to prey on. A scientific approach is needed rather than vague spiritual guidance ongoing in this country.

It is also true that even stringent laws, including capital punishment, are not effective in mitigating sexual violence. So society should stop crying about hanging rapist culprits and start looking for answers within their social setup.