Intervention of Hindu Gods Against Sexual Assault

In late 2012, a shocking news story brought many people in India to the streets, sparking angry protests: a 23-year-old female student was gang-raped on a moving bus in the streets of Delhi at 9:30 PM. The attackers beat her and her friend with an iron rod and threw their half-conscious bodies out of the bus. The young girl died less than two weeks later due to her injuries; however, national and international protests continued regarding the insecurity of women on the streets of India, as the Delhi incident was just one of many examples. According to the Times of India, between 2001 and 2013, an average of one sexual assault occurred every 30 minutes in India, with 90% of the attackers being relatives, neighbors, or acquaintances of the victim, and one-third of the victims being underage (18 years old). Among these cases, 77% were closed without punishment for the perpetrators; an occurrence that many angry Indian protesters and foreign observers attribute to police corruption and the inefficiency of India's judicial system, while some believe the root of this crisis should be sought in Indian culture and society. One of these individuals is Ram Devineni, an Indian filmmaker and writer, who, influenced by the painful Delhi incident and similar examples, created a graphic novel titled 'Priya Shakti' [meaning Priya's Power]; a book in which the heroine is a rape victim who regains her strength with the help of Hindu gods to defend herself and other victims. This book, aimed at Indian teenagers, is said by its producers to teach readers to stand against 'patriarchy, misogyny, and indifference' using the principles and symbols of Hinduism. The book, which was also produced with the participation of the NGO 'Apne Aap', narrates the story of 'Priya', a young girl who dreams of becoming a teacher but is prevented from going to school by her parents due to poverty. Priya has a strong interest and faith in a female Hindu deity named 'Parvati', and as a result, when she is raped as a teenager, 'Parvati', angry about the plight of women on earth, decides to take action. 'Priya', who has been cast out from her parents' home due to 'shame', returns to her village at Parvati's request, riding a large tiger, to bring the criminals to justice and compel the people to change their behavior towards women. In parts of this book, which can be viewed for free online, the stories of several rape victims from various parts of India are narrated in their own voices. The author of this work states: 'I have interviewed gang rape victims across India, and all of them told me they have no hope for justice... They all think they should be ashamed of what happened to them, and most live in constant fear of being killed. This is the current vicious cycle; there are men who commit rape with impunity because they know they will escape punishment.' Despite the serious concerns of international organizations regarding the significant increase in rape statistics in India, the government believes that these statistics are not new and that the increase in the number of reports is merely due to stricter laws enacted after the Delhi tragedy — which led to the execution of perpetrators — encouraging more women to come forward. Activists, however, argue that the current statistics represent at best 10% of the actual number of victims. Victims who remain silent not only in India but around the world often do so because they fear retaliation from the perpetrator or humiliation and being ostracized. Rape victims in India often fear that if their story is revealed, no one will want to marry them, and families frequently do not accept rape victims due to 'shame.' Like many other societies, Indian culture is heavily patriarchal, prioritizing sons over daughters. According to Indian traditions, sons are seen as the bearers of the family name and sources of wealth and honor, while daughters must be sent to their husbands' homes after providing a substantial dowry. On the other hand, as society modernizes and women participate in work and education, the more traditional sectors of society react negatively to this presence. It is therefore not surprising that many conservative figures in India consider women's 'clothing style' and their presence outside the home at 'inappropriate' hours as factors that 'provoke' rapists and believe that women's 'behavior' is one of the reasons for the occurrence of rape. The author of 'Priya Shakti' recalls that a police officer commented on the victim of the Delhi incident, saying: 'No good girl stays out alone on the streets at this hour.' Furthermore, over half of India's population is under the age of thirty, and many of them live in severe poverty; a poverty that brings deprivation of education and unemployment, pushing young Indian men towards violent and destructive behaviors. The existing caste system in India, which divides people into various 'castes', not only exacerbates this poverty and deprivation but also has a more direct impact on the issue of violence against women. According to this system, individuals born into families associated with castes like 'Dalits' are considered 'impure', and individuals from higher classes avoid them. According to some statistics, in a significant number of rapes that occur in rural areas, victims belong to this caste or other lower social classes, while the perpetrators come from higher classes. Thus, the exploitation of the body of the 'subordinate' is a crime that, due to the higher status of the perpetrator, faces systematic obstruction in its prosecution and is likely to remain unpunished. In the midst of the Delhi crime, a senior official from the state of Uttar Pradesh made a statement that sparked considerable media controversy. He said at an election meeting: 'Well, boys are like that; they sometimes make mistakes.' Despite the measures that the government claims to have taken to save India from this 'social disgrace', such comments indicate that the country still has a long way to go to eradicate the crisis; 'Priya Shakti' may be considered a small step in this direction.