Page 198 - DSOC402_SOCIOLOGY_OF_KINSHIP_ENGLISH

Sociology of Kinship

Notes 26.1 Violence, Sexual Exploitation and Harassment against Women
Violence and crime against women is not something new. Such incidents occurred in ancient
India too. During the Mahabharata period, Yudhishthira pawned his wife Drupadi in gambling
and Duryodhana molested her in the present of everyone. During the Ramayana period, Ravana
abducted Sita. The widows have been deprived of many rights and have been harassed in many
ways. Women are being burnt or killed for dowry. It is an irony in today’s age women are being
burnt on the name of viture. Every now and then we come across cases of rape through news-
papers and magazines. In some cases, the police and the administration too, are involved. In this
way, exploitation, harassment, rape, elopement, forced prostitution, abusing battering, burning
and killing are some of the major forms of crime against women.
Today, sociologist are showing keen interest in studies related to women and that interest
is growing. Radical sociologists who are interested in studies related to the dalits and the
downtrodden too, are sensitive to studies related to women. Social workers, state governments,
the study cells (related to women) established in universities and college, Psychiatrists,
criminologists too, have shown interest in women’s studies and are studying the various
aspects related to women. Presently, some people have started taking interest in the role of
women in crime and the violence and crime against them. Violence against women is defined
as that violent behaviour and harassment; caused by the close kin of woman, such as father,
mother, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law (husband’s brother),
sister-in-law (husband’s sister), brother-in-law’ wife or any other member of the family or other
persons, which causes physical and mental injury to women.
Nandita Gandhi and Nandita Shah have specified it, “Violence against women include rape,
dowry killing, wife torture, sexual discouragement and inappropriate projection of women by
medium of communication.”
The classification, of violence against women has been further categorized into three parts:
1. Criminal Violence; like rape, kidnapping etc.
2. Domestic Violence; like dowry death, wife battering, gender harassment etc.
3. Social Violence; like compelling wife and daughter-in-law to abort female foetus, teasing,
compelling a widow to perform the custom of ‘Sati’, harassing for dowry and denying a
woman the right to property, etc.
We get to know about the crime and violence against women through the statistics released
by the home Ministry. The police department and the National Institute for social defence
department. There has been a rise in dowry related killings, which reached the level of 7026 in
2004 from 6,822 in 2002. In the year 2005, the highest number of cases related to dowary deaths
were reported in UttarPradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. In India, in every 33 minutes, a
crime against women is committed. Two-third of the crimes against women are reported from
five states of India, namely-Madhya Pradesh (17.6%), Uttar Pradesh (15.7%), Maharashtra
(13.9%), Andhra Pradesh (7.9%) and Rajasthan (7.5%). The other 37.4% crimes against women
are committed in the other states of India, including the Union Territories.

These statistics related to crime and violence against women are incomplete as
all the crimes committed against them are not reported. In cases of domestic
violence against women, the police does not interfere citing it as a domestic
matter. Women too, are reluctant to make the matter public.

192 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY