DELHI STAGES ‘SLUTWALK’ AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE

INDIAN WOMEN HELD SLUTWALK
SEX HARASSMENT PROTEST IN DELHI

http://www.bbc.co.uk - A rally has taken place in India’s capital inspired by the “Slutwalk” protests held in a number of countries.  The protest is to challenge the notion that the way a woman looks can excuse sexual abuse or taunting - “Eve teasing” as it is known in India.  The protests originated in Canada after a policeman said women could avoid rape by not dressing like “sluts”.  The organisers are trying to challenge the mindset that the victims of sexual violence are to blame for the crimes committed against them.  Delhi can be a very difficult city for women, with sexual harassment commonplace, and rapes and abduction all too frequent.  And according to a recent survey, India remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women.  One protester told: “Every girl has the right to wear whatever she wants, to do whatever she wants to do with her body.  It’s our lives, our decisions, unless it’s harming you, you have no right to say anything.”

Hundreds took part in Delhi, though there was little of the skimpy dressing that has marked protests elsewhere.  Most of the marchers in Delhi were soberly dressed in jeans and T-shirts or traditional shalwar kameez.  “You stare at me not because of my clothes but because I’m a woman”, read one of the placards.  Another protester said: “There are a lot of problems for women in Delhi because a lot of women do face sexual harassment and just a couple of weeks ago the chief of police of Delhi said that if a women was out after 02.00 she was responsible for what happens to her, and I don’t think that’s the right attitude.”  India recorded almost 22,000 rape cases in 2008, 18% up on 2004.  “The purpose of this Slutwalk is to address three issues of gender inequality, gender stereotypes and victim blaming,” Mishika Singh, one of the organisers said.

An Indian version of Slut Walk was held on Delhi's streets on Sunday with women - mainly of school and college students - along with many men who support them to protest against harassment and abuse.  The concept of a Slut Walk started in Toronto, Canada in April this year after women there staged a protest against a police officer’s remark that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised,” which is another way of blaming the victim.  “The clothes we wear, don’t give anyone the right to rape us”, read one of the placards.  The consciousness of the conditioned living being is covered by lust.  

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Prema, and Kama (or sensual love in any form), are on two different levels. Prema is possible in the transcendental Realm of God alone, while Kama or sensual love is on the plane of mundane senses. It will be an utter mistake to attempt to understand Prema in terms of the knowledge of mundane love or lust (be it human or animal). It is only by honest and earnest spiritual practices or sadhana that an individual may gradually climb the different steps of the ladder, from the lowest step of Sraddha to the highest step of Prema. A mere jump from the lowest to the highest, from Kama or mundane love (which is only another form of mundane lust) to Prema will simply hurl one into the abyss of mundane lust, and such a person can never realise and relish the mellow-sweetness of supra-mundane Krsna-Prema.

Śrīla Bhakti Hridaya Bon (Vana) Mahārāja :
Sri Rupa Goswami’s “Bhakti-Rasamrta-Sindu”
Transliteration in English with Translation with Comments
http://bvml.org/SHBM/brs.htm - Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library