Blog 4: India Rape Film

Summary

In December 2012, a 23 year-old woman was beaten and gang-raped by four men on a public bus in New Delhi, India. She later died from the injuries from the rape and the men have all been sentenced to death. A woman named Leslee Udwin, from the UK, got permission from the jail to interview one of the prisoners, Mukesh Singh. The film interview was banned in India but was aired by BBC in the UK. BBC says that, in the interview, the rapist showed no remorse. He suggested that she may have survived is she didn’t fight back. He also says that women are more responsible than men for rape. His comments have created an uproar about gender inequality. There has been a lot of controversy about the airing of this film. Some took offense because they believe it gives Singh a platform to share his prejudice of women. Others agree that it promotes awareness and understanding of the horror of rape.

Opinion

I came across this article randomly and became interested after hearing about the gender inequality in India. I read a few different articles on this issue and one article actually quoted what Singh said in the interview. However, I did not want to include it in the summary because it was just so infuriating and disgusting to me. We have gone through so much to convince women that they should not be blamed or blame themselves for rape. Yet, this man seems to still live in the time where women and men were not equal, where women were supposed to stay at home, where they were shamed for going out to bars and wearing the wrong clothes. Even after receiving the death penalty, he shows no sympathy. Luckily, India says that they have changed. I agree with the film-maker that the video should be aired but whether or not a person wants to watch it, is on them. Personally, I would not want to watch it because I was enraged only by the few comments I read in an article. But, for those who are quick to say that feminism is overrated and unnecessary should definitely watch this video. 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-31749868