PaRCha - JNU - All Organisations - 2012 ID-53641
.
late at night, dressing according to their own choice and taking independent decisions about entering into or coming out of .
relationships. Liberty and freedom for woman in many such instances achieved through a difficult and relentless struggl,e by the student community for sure comes as surprise to many ofus including women who forthe first time enterthis university. .
But most ofus receive such liberty and freedom not as an unfortunate shock but with appreciation ofhow freedom and equality among genders only help in better and mature understanding about each other. Generations of students in this campus have experienced how a freer interaction among not only the two genders but people coming from different regional and cultural backgrounds have helped in better understanding of the 'other' and breaking down of several .
, .
stereotypes about the 'other'. The atmosphere offreedom is not only liberating for women butalso for men who now con share a space of friendship based on equality which is so uncommon otherwise. .
' for only one gender and thus making them.
Then how is this newness of equalit y and freedom supposed to generate 'shockhelplesstogetinto such obsessive mode ofviolence? In fact, aren't those who believe that 'culture shock' leads men togetinto mode, actually disturbed bythe breaking down ofunequal hierarchical relationship between the two.
the 'stalking' or 'violent' .
genders more than anything else? While itis importantto create an inclusive atmosphere of co-operation so that people from different cultural backgrounds do not feel alienated in a new atmosphere, any attempt to deny the existence of patriarchal common sense in the name of confusion created due to 'culture shock' is only an escape route and not honest attempt to address t he issue. The act of violence of3PtJuly has also been named as a natural outburst of hurt feeling due to a sense of rejection. We are asked if the woman was sufficiently 'sensitive' and 'convincing' in her 'explanations' for breaking offor rejecting a relationship. Ifshe said 'NO' rudely, we are told, it would very naturally create a disturbance in a male's psychology whothen is forced to take such extreme steps. Again, have we everthought: how does it become so natural for us to thinkthata woman saying 'NO' to a relationship is more rude and unjustified as compared to a man saying 'NO'? Why is itthat a woman's actofindependence .
by saying 'NO' is seen as 'naturally' generating a violent reaction by the ·man who has been rejected? Are woman never rejected in a relationship? Does not it generate a sense ofgrief and hurt among them? Will we accept it as 'naturor and .
'acceptable' ifa woman who is rejected were to respond in the same violent and oppressive way? Isn't it perhaps the case that .
in a relationship, a woman is seen to be 'possessed' by her partner, and that is why it is only she who does not have the right to enter or come out of a relationship according to her own choice? Don't popular films and songs survive on everyday .
manufacturing ofthe ideas ofwomen as objects ofdesire tobe possessed? Many ofus may remember appreciating thetunes of 'tu ha kar ya na kar... tu hai meri kiron', without being able to understand how the denial ofa woman's agency becomes 'disloyal' woman who has.
naturalizedthrough nice music and an entertaining plot. Or lately, the portrayal ofa 'heartless' and rejected a boy has been collectively enjoyed by all of us through the beats of 'kolaveri' is also a part of the process of .
naturalization ofthe idea ofa rude woman who says 'NO'. A 'NO' is also often interpreted as 'hothopenna dil pe ha hoyenga' thus disrespecting her ability to take decisions for herself. While many of us in JNU would accept that institutions like khap panchayats should not exist in a democracy, that acid attacks on women are not acceptable or attacking a woman with a cleaveris inhuman, have we really been able to acknowledge that only this much is notenough? Unless we critically lookinto ourideas about women in every aspect of life and respect their right to express consent or denial at any stage of relationship of intimacy, we will only continue to nurture a mindset which eventually could manifest itself through an attack with a cleaver. There are manifold small acts of 'possessiveness' and .
aggression (obsessive, repeated smses and phone calls, etc) which we accept as 'chalta hoi'... which all help to create the .
climate where an attack with a cleaver is waiting to happen. .
The task ahead for ensuring a gender-just campus Although the incident of 3151 July has shaken the campus, the campus community has accepted the task ofdeep introspection and accepted the challenges for building a gender-just, violence free and truly liberating campus space for people from all the genders, regional, cultural and economic background. This is still the campus which responds with responsibility in cases of .
such gender violence and ensures several other forms of freedom such as free movement for both the genders in campus .
spaces. The radical student movement in JNU has ensured the establishment of Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassmentfollowing theguidelines ofVishakha Judgmentbythe Supreme Court. The previousJNUSU in 2012 demanded institutionalisation ofthe gender sensitization program at the beginning ofacademic year which had been achieved through .
a consistent pressure by the students. The demand by the previous JNUSU for preparing a gender sensitit:ation module and .
making ita part ofcurriculum in every discipline was passed bythe School ofSocial Sciences Board ofStudies .The task nowis to ensure that such a module is prepared at the earliest. Transforming ideas about gender stereotypes can be achieved through a dialogue among the campus communityabout genderrelations and women's autonomy. .
5 July 2013 .
Akbar, President, AISA, JNU Sandeep Saurav, Gen. Secy, AISA, JNU .
.
PaRCha - JNU - All Organisations - 2012 ID-53641
.
late at night, dressing according to their own choice and taking independent decisions about entering into or coming out of .
relationships. Liberty and freedom for woman in many such instances achieved through a difficult and relentless struggl,e by the student community for sure comes as surprise to many ofus including women who forthe first time enterthis university. .
But most ofus receive such liberty and freedom not as an unfortunate shock but with appreciation ofhow freedom and equality among genders only help in better and mature understanding about each other. Generations of students in this campus have experienced how a freer interaction among not only the two genders but people coming from different regional and cultural backgrounds have helped in better understanding of the 'other' and breaking down of several .
, .
stereotypes about the 'other'. The atmosphere offreedom is not only liberating for women butalso for men who now con share a space of friendship based on equality which is so uncommon otherwise. .
' for only one gender and thus making them.
Then how is this newness of equalit y and freedom supposed to generate 'shockhelplesstogetinto such obsessive mode ofviolence? In fact, aren't those who believe that 'culture shock' leads men togetinto mode, actually disturbed bythe breaking down ofunequal hierarchical relationship between the two.
the 'stalking' or 'violent' .
genders more than anything else? While itis importantto create an inclusive atmosphere of co-operation so that people from different cultural backgrounds do not feel alienated in a new atmosphere, any attempt to deny the existence of patriarchal common sense in the name of confusion created due to 'culture shock' is only an escape route and not honest attempt to address t he issue. The act of violence of3PtJuly has also been named as a natural outburst of hurt feeling due to a sense of rejection. We are asked if the woman was sufficiently 'sensitive' and 'convincing' in her 'explanations' for breaking offor rejecting a relationship. Ifshe said 'NO' rudely, we are told, it would very naturally create a disturbance in a male's psychology whothen is forced to take such extreme steps. Again, have we everthought: how does it become so natural for us to thinkthata woman saying 'NO' to a relationship is more rude and unjustified as compared to a man saying 'NO'? Why is itthat a woman's actofindependence .
by saying 'NO' is seen as 'naturally' generating a violent reaction by the ·man who has been rejected? Are woman never rejected in a relationship? Does not it generate a sense ofgrief and hurt among them? Will we accept it as 'naturor and .
'acceptable' ifa woman who is rejected were to respond in the same violent and oppressive way? Isn't it perhaps the case that .
in a relationship, a woman is seen to be 'possessed' by her partner, and that is why it is only she who does not have the right to enter or come out of a relationship according to her own choice? Don't popular films and songs survive on everyday .
manufacturing ofthe ideas ofwomen as objects ofdesire tobe possessed? Many ofus may remember appreciating thetunes of 'tu ha kar ya na kar... tu hai meri kiron', without being able to understand how the denial ofa woman's agency becomes 'disloyal' woman who has.
naturalizedthrough nice music and an entertaining plot. Or lately, the portrayal ofa 'heartless' and rejected a boy has been collectively enjoyed by all of us through the beats of 'kolaveri' is also a part of the process of .
naturalization ofthe idea ofa rude woman who says 'NO'. A 'NO' is also often interpreted as 'hothopenna dil pe ha hoyenga' thus disrespecting her ability to take decisions for herself. While many of us in JNU would accept that institutions like khap panchayats should not exist in a democracy, that acid attacks on women are not acceptable or attacking a woman with a cleaveris inhuman, have we really been able to acknowledge that only this much is notenough? Unless we critically lookinto ourideas about women in every aspect of life and respect their right to express consent or denial at any stage of relationship of intimacy, we will only continue to nurture a mindset which eventually could manifest itself through an attack with a cleaver. There are manifold small acts of 'possessiveness' and .
aggression (obsessive, repeated smses and phone calls, etc) which we accept as 'chalta hoi'... which all help to create the .
climate where an attack with a cleaver is waiting to happen. .
The task ahead for ensuring a gender-just campus Although the incident of 3151 July has shaken the campus, the campus community has accepted the task ofdeep introspection and accepted the challenges for building a gender-just, violence free and truly liberating campus space for people from all the genders, regional, cultural and economic background. This is still the campus which responds with responsibility in cases of .
such gender violence and ensures several other forms of freedom such as free movement for both the genders in campus .
spaces. The radical student movement in JNU has ensured the establishment of Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassmentfollowing theguidelines ofVishakha Judgmentbythe Supreme Court. The previousJNUSU in 2012 demanded institutionalisation ofthe gender sensitization program at the beginning ofacademic year which had been achieved through .
a consistent pressure by the students. The demand by the previous JNUSU for preparing a gender sensitit:ation module and .
making ita part ofcurriculum in every discipline was passed bythe School ofSocial Sciences Board ofStudies .The task nowis to ensure that such a module is prepared at the earliest. Transforming ideas about gender stereotypes can be achieved through a dialogue among the campus communityabout genderrelations and women's autonomy. .
5 July 2013 .
Akbar, President, AISA, JNU Sandeep Saurav, Gen. Secy, AISA, JNU .
.