Women as victims of violence: Focus on unity instead of differences, say activists

KOLKATA: The deepening communal divisions in India and its neighbourhood have adversely impacted women and led to a spike in gendered violence, leading feminist activists said at a programme to mark South Asian Women's Day on November 30.
Founder and former director of Swayam, Anuradha Kapoor, who has played an active role in advocating for laws and policies related to women's rights in India and internationally, said the rapid militarization and deepening communal divisions that have become rampant in the region has negatively impacted women.
"Women have always had to bear an unequal burden of the effects of conflict in caste, class, religion or ethnicity, in addition to the discriminatory practices due to patriarchal structures. The communal divisions in the region have made the situation worse," she said.
US-based scholar and activist Shamita Das Dasgupta agreed. "While governments in South Asia focus on outward conflicts and violence, they often ignore the violence meted out on women," said Dasgupta, who co-founded Manavi, a women's organisation in New Jersey, US, in 1985.
Dasgupta shared a common slogan raised in marches in the US: 'No justice, no peace', which means that without achieving justice and equality, there can never be peace. Quoting John Lennon's famous line 'Give peace a chance', she told the audience that we must find a shared goal so we can unify, instead of focusing on our differences.
Bangladeshi artist, singer and development worker Rafiath Rashid Mithila, best kno-wn by her stage name Mithila, said everyone had experienced patriarchy, and that is why it needed to be discussed with children so they learn about injustice and equality.
"There are shared experiences and challenges in all the countries of the region, like child marriage, domestic violence, and the growing number of rapes.
Though a lot has changed and women are entering the workforce in greater numbers, they still did not have agency over their finances and decision-making. There are also new threats of cyber bullying and harassment through the proliferation of internet," she said. The women were speaking at the programme organised under the aegis of South Asian feminist network Sangat.