I have travelled through the lengths and breadths of
India and interacted with people from different walks of life. Most of the
times, their enquiries about Nagaland exhibits the presence of a wide communication
barrier between the North Eastern states and the rest of India. For many individuals,
the word Nagaland immediately brings the image of an underdeveloped state in
their mind. They could not be completely blamed for their ignorance because even
in the national media the negative aspects of North East are projected more
than the positives. There is no denial that our state is economically
underdeveloped and the people suffer in many ways due the topography,
negligence and impacts of armed struggles. But there are many cultural aspects
and traditions that the mainland Indians need to learn from the people of Nagaland.
In this article, I would like to highlight few of the plights of women in India
and tell the nation how developed are the people of Nagaland in protecting
their womenfolk.
The number of women suffering from Sexual Harassment
at work places in India is much more than that of the sexual assault cases
reported in the media. Many women encounter horrifying experiences at work
places and the mental agony of such women could not be easily described in
words. There is no job security in most of the private
establishments and women who complain of Sexual Harassment against their
superiors would most probably be shown the doors in the appropriate time. So, in most of the cases, where women are the
bread winners of families, the victims bear the suffocation of the torture
silently.
Even in the public sector, a woman fighting against her
superiors would find it challenging. You may remember the case of Smt. Rupan Deol Bajaj, a senior lady IAS officer of Punjab, who fought a long
battle of sexual harassment against a former D.G.P of the state. The accused
officer had outraged her modesty publically in a gathering and it took 8 years
for her and her bureaucrat husband to get a judgment from a court that the
D.G.P’s act was a criminal offence. But
we must remember that the senior IAS officers could get justice only after
knocking the doors of the Supreme Court of India.
Nothing more is required to highlight the plight of
working women in India than the present case of sexual harassment of a former law
intern by a Senior Judge of the Supreme Court who was a fatherly figure to her.
We bow down our heads in shame as the offence was committed by a Judge of the
highest court of India which is the last resort for all the citizens of our
country. To whom else could a person complain if the Lords of the Supreme Court
themselves commit criminal offences?
From the proceedings of the case you could realize why
the victim preferred to air her complaint after the retirement of the Judge.
Just imagine, what would have happened to her had she raised the issue before
his retirement?
Another important cruelty shown by the Indian society
to women is the practice of blaming the victims for the offence committed
against them. In many rape cases, women have been blamed for the provoking way
of dressing. Even, a woman Chief Minister of an Indian state had expressed such
a view publically. I do not support this view mainly for two reasons. First,
thousands of children have been sexually assaulted in our country. Do you think
those innocent children were wearing provoking dresses? Secondly, how a women dress
is her personal right and we must remember that we are living in the 21st
century and not in the ancient times. Rather men should learn to admire and appreciate
beauty without tempting to encroach into others domains.
Let me come to the scenario of women in Nagaland. Cases
of Sexual Assault against women are very few in the Naga Society and the Naga
girls have the liberty to wear the so called ‘provocative dress’ casually
without any fear. Rape cases were rare till the late nineties and even today
occurrence of such incidents are very few compared to that in other parts of
our country. The influx of immigrants, drug abuse and uncontrolled accesses to
the internet might be the major reasons for the intrusion of the sexual assault
virus in the present Naga society. But we could proudly say that the practice
of conquering women by force against their wishes is very rare in the Naga
Society.
In regards to harassment of women at work place, I am
confident that Nagaland would top the list states with ZERO occurrence of the
crime. I have been working in Nagaland for the past two decades and have
observed that men and women always maintain cordial and friendly relationship
in work places. One could rarely come across reports of inappropriate advances
by male colleagues in work places. It is really unfortunate that many good
traditions and practices prevailing in Nagaland are not projected well in the
national media and Nagaland doesn’t get its due recognition. Let us hope and pray that under the leadership
of our dynamic woman Chief Secretary, Nagaland would emerge as a leader in many
more aspects.
