Year of Faith in India: Violence against women violates human dignity
Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Discrimination and violence against women in India were the second issue discussed at the national symposium organised in October by the Commission for Theology and Doctrine of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India-Latin Rite (CCBI-LR). The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the application of the social doctrine of the Church in today's world. On 31 October, AsiaNews published the first part of the report, centred on the problem of poverty in the Asian country.
A country where women are victims of discrimination & violence
Women comprise 48 per cent of India's population. On the one hand, women are worshipped as goddesses - Rani, Lakshmi, devi etc - or romanticized as the ideal woman, mothers, daughters, wives and sisters. At the same time, they are the victims of various forms of discrimination and violence. Every day brings with it horrifying instances of violence against women. Sexual exploitation, rape, women, honour killings, domestic violence, dowry deaths, acid throwing etc. are becoming routine in our country; and all these are direct offences against human dignity.
Often, women do not have ownership of their own power, resources and energies. It is controlled, managed and dominated by forces outside her, like men in her family, the community and society at large. She is made dependent on others; her power is taken away from her. The woman is not considered as an earning member of the family. She earns but has no right to own. As more women enter public spaces - for education or work or access to services or leisure - there are more reports of violence against them.
A reality often hidden is the violence that takes place within the home and the family. Statistics show that 70% of violence to women occurs in the home or by people known to them. Incest is a violence that affects a child right through life if a process of healing not been initiated. Marital rape is the violence of forced sexual relations that husbands have thus far claimed as their conjugal right.
The very first chapter of the Bible (Gen, 1: 27) tells us that human beings were created in the image of God, male and female he created them. Pope John Paul II, in his letter Mulieris Dignitatem no. 6 explains, "the human race which takes its origin from the calling into existence of man and woman, crowns the whole work of creation; both man and woman are human being to an equal degree. Both are created in God's image". The dignity and vocation of women has been a subject of serious reflection in the Church at large. In the Indian Church, systematic efforts have been made to put structures and systems in place to empower woman and give her back the dignity that is hers. In 2010, the CBCI Gender Policy was passed.
Yet, still much remains to be done. We, the members of the Symposium stand in solidarity with our girl children and women, and we pledge to do everything possible to empower them and to keep them safe and secure.
- We thought we should begin with our own homes. Often in spousal relationships, equality is missing. Woman is required to please her husband and attend to his every need, if she tries to assert herself or claim equality she is labelled as aggressive or beaten up. We will seek to change that. Mutuality in a marriage relationship requires reciprocity and mutual fulfilment in sexual relations and not force.
- We will strive to change the process of socialization that reinforces masculine and feminine stereotypes. In our homes, we will treat boys and girls as equal. We will nurture our children with human values of love, concern, and caring together with helping them to develop and grow to her/his full potential, creates an environment of equality, sensitivity and appreciation for the other. We will neither accept dowry nor give dowry at the time of weddings. We will object to the portrayal of women as sex objects in the media or as objects for the sale of products.
- At the Symposium, we realized that we were not even aware of the CBCI Gender Policy. We have decided to study it ourselves. The women present at the Symposium decided to look upon themselves not merely as objects that need to be empowered, but as active agents of their own empowerment, as persons who unearth the energies within, challenging the vulnerabilities they may have. We want to recognize more and more that we will not receive much power from the outside as a passive receivers, but will have to tap our own internal power.
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