The 1947 partition of British India into two independent nations (India and Pakistan) was accompanied by enactments of violence unspeakable in their brutality and horror, leading Mushirul Hasan to label it a “bloody vivisection” (xii). Amongst the several atrocities at the time of partition were those committed specifically against women. Several women were raped, murdered, abducted and forced into marriage. They became the targets of horrific violence and their bodies became the sites over which victory was sought.
Gendered violence has mostly been read as metonymic of the violation of the land. Women’s bodies hold immense significance in an all-male dominated society where the responsibility for the protection of their chastity and honour rests on the shoulders of men. Their sexuality becomes highly problematic particularly at the time of disorder and war because their roles as biological reproducers and transmitters of culture make them highly vulnerable to acts of sexual exploitation by men of the ‘other’ community. In the context of the Partition of India, the unprecedented levels of sexual exploitation against women on both sides of the border testify their role as “objects in male constructions of their own honour” (Das 43). As Ruth Seifert puts it, the female body is “a symbolic representation of the body politic” (62) and rape of women is “the symbolic rape of the body of [the] community” (64). Robbing them of their honour becomes the means through which male power is destabilized, community’s identity is threatened and nation’s pride is defeated. Susan Brownmiller states, “In one act of aggression, the collective spirit of women and of the nation is broken, leaving a reminder long after the troops depart. And if she sur...
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“The United Nations estimates that as many as 5,000 women and girls worldwide were killed last year by family members” (Autumn, 2001). Crimes of ‘honor’ are acts of violence perpetuated typically against women who violate broader cultural standards against sexuality and marriage. When a woman violates the sexual or marital standards within a culture, her actions bring shame and dishonor and in order to eliminate the dishonor within the family, killing is the only way. “Honor killings focus on maintaining the sexual exclusiveness of women” (Barker et al, 1999). In most of the cases, honor killings are mostly present in cultures of the South Asian and Middle Eastern Islamic areas. Sadly, this culture is prevalent in some parts of the Indian society as well. “Offenses leading to ‘honor’ killings include leaving home without permission, rumors about premarital loss of virginity, accusations of flirting, and illegitimate sexual contact. These accusations also do not require the consent of the female in the act. Rape victims, for instance,...
The country of Pakistan has not always oppressed women. The former man in charge of Pakistan professed, “No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a third power stronger than both, that of women (Lamb and Yousafzai 31).” It was not until a general named Zia ul-Haq threw a coup and seized control of the government that women and men’s rights became incomparable under Islamic Law. Zia’s regime did not allow women to play most sports, have access to healthcare, or open a bank account, and, in...
Recently, a horrendous gang rape and murder case in India has caused many people to speak out against sex crimes. A female medical student was beaten with metal rods, raped, and then thrown from a moving bus by four men. In response, many people have called for stricter laws dealing with sexual violence. This has also lead to some focus on the sex trafficking aspect of sexual violence. In an article by the Editorial Board of the New York Times, issues of enforcement were brought to light by explaining that sex trafficking is growing in India because of extreme poverty, “a gender imbalance resulting from sex-selective abortion practices,” and “India’s affluence.” The writers of “Sex Trafficking in India” adequately argue that in order to solve the issue of sex trafficking there needs to be stricter enforcement of existing laws that deal with sex crimes by appealing to their intended audience through statistics, expert testimonies, cause and effect, and descriptive language.
During the Cold War, many regional conflicts occurred and were noted as the significant battles which later led to decolonization. One of the regional conflicts were India and Pakistan fighting for their independence. In 1947, India was released under Great Britain’s control and gained its independence. However, the country was divided between Muslims and Hindus, which share different religions. Muslims wanted church and state to become unified while Hindus wanted a separation of these two establishments. Since these two ethnic groups disagreed, it was difficult to create a new government. Therefore, India was divided into two nations: India for the Hindus and Pakistan for the Muslims. Hindus and Muslims were racing to the border in order to get to their nation state which led to killing 500,000 people due to rioting. Although, Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian National Congressman, wanted to obtain peace between these two religions. Pakistan refused the H...
Zurbriggen, E. (). Rape, War, And The Socialization of Masculinity: Why Our Refusal To Give Up Was Ensures That Rape Cannot Be Eradicated. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34, 538-539
Adding onto the to the dexterous disposals undergone in order to disencumber themselves from female infants shortly after birth, disdain and bigotry leading to death and sex-selective abortion are other ways by which many female children die each year. These circumstances are most predominant in patriarchal social orders in which females are devalued and a predilection for boys is incorporated within the developmental social ideologies. India is undergoing a female genocide. The primary cause as to why this occurrence does not jostle or provoke global advertence is because it is accomplished through abortion in oppose to killing the females post birth. In India, abortion in itself is a completely legal procedure and the latitudinarian a...
Susan Bayly. (1999). Caste, Society and Politics in India: from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age. Cambridge University Press
Sandhu, Sarbjit K. The Image of Woman in the Novels of Shashi Deshpande. New Delhi: Prestige, 1991.
The decision to grant independence to India was not the logical culmination of errors in policy, neither was it as a consequence of a mass revolution forcing the British out of India, but rather, the decision was undertaken voluntarily. Patrick French argues that: “The British left India because they lost control over crucial areas of the administration, and lacked the will and the financial or military ability to recover that control”.
Until a child is eighteen years old, the parents have full responsibility. They provide a stable and loving environment for their children. As the leaders in a household, caring and loving parents also maintain the bonds that hold the family together. However, absence of loving parental guidance can create tension between family members. Anita Desai’s Clear Light of Day shows how war, specifically the partition of India, affects a particular family. The partition of Indian in 1947 created the separate countries of India and Pakistan, consequently ripping families apart. The partition, initiated by India’s independence from Britain, attempted to accommodate irreconcilable religious differences between Muslims and Hindus by forming the Islamic Pakistan. In Clear Light of Day, the Das children’s relationship with their parents causes lasting sibling conflict that mirrors this social and political upheaval of India.
As the Hindu’s in northwest India moved south, the Muslims moved north into Pakistan; millions were displaced, thousands were slaughtered as a result of the riots and the birth of both countries was met with death and destruction. Many believe that Muslims went along with the partition and moved to Pakistan “not because they viewed it, as official Pakistani narrative suggests, as the lan...