Introduction
The world lies in paradoxes and believes in accumulating binaries and differentiating between them while rejecting the commonalities existing between them. While we call ourselves, homo-sapiens but we tend to emphasize more on gender i.e., man and woman. Transgenders do not even manifest in the man-made definitions of gender, and it is still abnormal to think like a trans person while discussing about gender related issues. The power animosity and the grudge that power brings among us, segregates our thinking process into two boxes with conflictual identities. We tend to believe that women cannot stand without men even if they are the ones who bring men into this world. I won’t glorify the essence of motherhood in this article but sometimes, we need to be critical about what we feel and speak. Democratizing spaces for both men and women along with trans persons should be considered mandatory. But, how far we have reached while promoting equity and equality. With reference to this, I would like to read in between the lines about a case where a female student in IIT-Guwahati was sexually abused by a male student from the same institute on 28th March, 2022. There is a huge gap in between what we claim and what we do as citizens and also as responsible authorities. The verdict given by High Court is of utmost dismal wherein the High Court grants bail to the offender stating that they are future assets and future of our nation. I hope to question the order passed by HC on August 13, 2022 because offenders will not make India stronger. Rather, they will weaken the systems in place while misusing their power. It is important to codify humanity as we have completely forgotten about it. The ethical code of conduct of being a human has been somehow erased from our minds while we kept our minds boxed when speaking of gender equality fondly. Gender equality and women empowerment are used as tools for propaganda to either win seats in Parliament and state legislatures or to grapple donations for running organizations or for getting tax exemptions while doing nothing in the name of Corporate Social Responsibility. Thus, representation of women in all spheres is a showbiz business. Thus, it is imperative to understand how patriarchy disfigures the impact of education in masculine environment.
When femininity meets masculinity in educational institutions
Being able to feel like a woman, I have noticed how biased is our mighty education system not just in terms of gender representation but also with respect to representation of people from marginalized communities despite reservations. However, it is a controversial topic to talk about merit and reservations. I have seen meritorious Dalit students being harassed by upper caste students in higher educational institutions. The system is monopolized by people who are belonging from certain political ideology and from a certain sect of our society that gambles with our consciousness and identities while creating hegemonies that are not significant. They are only significant for arguing and studying on what went wrong or right otherwise they don’t pose any solutions. These hegemonies are problems in disguise. When I conducted research on ‘Gender in Pedagogy of Natural Sciences’ during my post-graduation, I could witness a pattern that can be considered as self-evident when it comes to people’s attitudes towards what a girl/boy should study or what man/woman should teach. The research revealed that more than 73% of the 240 students believed that Mathematics and Physics should only be taught male teachers as female teachers are not good with calculations and concepts while 84% of the 240 students believed that female teachers should teach Biology or Social Sciences only. Henceforth, it is quite evident that whenever masculinity meets femininity in any kind of educational settings then the Newton’s Third Law shall be applicable i.e., ‘every action will have equal and opposite reaction”. The sexual assault of a female student at IIT Guwahati is already approving of the Newton’s law. I hope gratification like these will ensure that India will keep lagging behind in Gender Inequality Index. Still, our policymakers will hold a stage to talk about women empowerment and this cycle will proceed further. Victims will open up or shut themselves down, but the systems will be monopolized by men who don’t even know about menstruation and other ‘feminine’ problems. Hereby, I don’t intend to feminize problems as problems might look quite obvious, yet we don’t have concrete solutions.
When nationhood awaits criminals in Higher Educational Institutions
Most of the frequent backdoor entries allied with political proponents either become heads or departmental heads and rest are following the herd mentality to get some political affiliation or orientation. That’s how nationhood looks like these days. While prestigious institutions like IIT-Guwahati might even ask their students to sign anti-ragging forms but subtle ragging becomes a legacy mark for entrants during the odd hours in hostels. By-laws are so rigid and specific that the High Court provides bail to a culprit because he is the future of nation. Kudos to such a productive reflection of nationalism! Sexual harassment is a crime. The culprit should have been punished but yet he was granted bail. This is the meritocracy in our higher educational system that we often talk about. Laws will fondle and cuddle with its criminals in the name of nationhood. While in the case of
IIT Guwahati, it was not even the matter of sexual harassment. It was a rape case! The court order mentioned that on 28th March, offender allegedly met the woman to discuss her responsibilities as the joint secretary of finance and economics club. However, he forced her to drink alcohol and raped her when she was not in a state to give consent. The FIR was filed under Section 376 (rape), 328 (causing hurt by poison, etc. with an intent to commit offence), 307(attempt to murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. Even after facing charges, he was granted bail with the usual bail conditions. He has been asked to appear before the trial court on all dates as fixed by the court till the case is dismissed and has been directed to refrain from making any ‘inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to police officer or court.’
Just another reflection of patronization on a cultural note
Once a friend of mine who was supposedly studying in the Azim Premji School of Education, TISS Hyderabad mentioned if I knew that she was belonging from ‘Chamar’ caste. I was taken aback by her statement as I could not figure out what went wrong. I felt as if I did something wrong to her unknowingly. Then she just laughed at my expressions and shared her history. What we miss on academic front is the idea of great storytelling. Oral histories have captured instances of caste and caste-based violence in a comprehensive manner but somehow, we reduced Social Sciences to mere sense of objectivity. There is a subtle gap between what we feel and how we act on that feeling. This is the gap that hermeneutics can feel. There are several instances where pioneers like Savitribai Phule, Chandraprabha Saikinia, Fathima Sheikh, Durgabai Deshmukh and others redefined the meaning of education for women and people belonging from marginalized communities. What we fail to understand now is that holding epistemic privilege is not about being sophisticated, but it is honest reflection of the perceived reality emerging from a dialogue inside and outside the classrooms. The environment may change but the person’s identity follows him/her/they as a shadow. Nevertheless, caste has always been normalized and is considered as a way of life. It irks me as a writer and researcher that we decided to emphasize too much on Dalits which is just another way to monopolize the epistemology of truth and normalize casteism out of which caste is born. There are plausible flawed silences that have shaped the discourse where we think that twice-born castes have no prejudices and talking about Dalits is the only politics that will sell their research. In this context, I do not want to demean my work on Savitribai Phule or someone else’s work on the marginalized communities but what I am trying to assert is that we might actually not understand what people from lower castes face when we do not understand practices observed by upper caste people. The framed identities of isolating one caste from another can never annihilate the caste system.
Conclusion
Power-play is a more intoxicating game wherein the cases like these become attorneys of power and examples of crude power dynamics in the name of patriarchy that criminalizes the existence of woman in every sphere. Thus, it is quite significant to change our attitudes towards treating each other. Without empathetic consciousness, we won’t be able to survive for too long. Humanity needs adjustment, but women should not be the one to adjust always in every situation. Sometimes, it needs to be balanced. The balance shall be created only if we efficient and effective systems in place where criminals are barred from using country’s resources in the name of promoting nationhood.