Ladies First? Maybe Not
by Kiran Alvi

See it and Read it:

It’s not everyday you see women being slapped, pummeled, and yanked by the hair by men in broad daylight. But such recent events in Mangalore, India at a bar called Amnesia: The Lounge are being justified by some groups who call the violence “moral policing.” Whether a global audience agrees or disagrees with the justification is not the biggest issue here, whether or not the world, or India in this case, is ready for the modern female, however, is.

Shri Ram Sena, a radical wing of the Hindu nationalist movement, claimed responsibility for the January 29 attacks on young woman inside and outside the bar. Several women were assaulted and two were pushed to the ground outside according to a video posted by journalists for Daijiworld, Mangalore’s first internet TV.

Kuldip Nayar, a New Delhi-based journalist and political analyst acknowledged that tradition hasn’t been entirely abandoned in India and the “class of people going to pubs, dancing, is still very small.” Isn’t a comparison with the Afghani Taliban a bit harsh for the Shri Ram Sena group? They claim to only be protecting morality, after all. But here lies the double standard.

The key component of these violent acts was that women were the main victims, not a whole “class.” The fact that the women were attacked for doing what was seen as normal in Bollywood movies suggest the society may be moving forward faster than its culture. The culture is lagging behind its so-called image. I, myself, have seen countless Bollywood movies with women drinking in a bar – Dostana and Kal Ho Naa Ho, for example. Why does pop culture promote one modern lifestyle while the public condemns it?

Nirmala Venkatesh, a member of the central government’s National Commission for Women, had a suggestion for Indian women. In her opinion, women can enjoy themselves freely, but need to “recognize societal limits,” she said.

What one can infer from Venkatesh’s response is that women in India need to maintain a balance in today’s India. Yes, the country is moving forward rapidly in one sector, but perhaps other areas like culture will take more time. The idea is valid and perhaps women should keep this in mind. After all, who is to say wanting tradition and “morality” is wrong? But why is it that throughout the world’s history, freedom for female modernization has taken extra time?

“I feel caught between two worlds,” said Tina Chopra in an LA Times article, 21, a college student. “At home, it’s the old traditional India. When I go out, it’s the new India. . . . I’m like two separate people.”

Some view the acts against women at a bar in Mangalore as solely political. Regardless, it is still telling of a gender conflict. Why was violence towards women chosen as the political act? Why were women at a bar attacked? Conservative and liberal are two ways of approaching tradition. However, when women get caught in that crossfire it reveals more than just a political rivalry, but the repeatedly told story that societies modernize before allowing their women to.

attack, bollywood, culture, india, internet tv, women, worldwide