Rethink women’s safety in Indian politic
Source: Deccanherald
Indian politics often behaves less like a modern constitutional system and more like a network of fiercely loyal clans. When a serious allegation of sexual violence or exploitation surfaces, the instinct of many is not to ask, ‘What happened to the woman?’ but to ask, ‘Which side is she on, and what does this do to us?’ That clan instinct is what keeps turning women’s complaints into political weapons rather than legal issues.
The recent allegations against opposition MLA Rahul Mamkootathil illustrate this clearly. A young woman first took her complaint not to a police station, but to the chief minister and CPI(M) leadership, seeking action on her allegations of rape, forced pregnancy and coerced abortion.
Only after this political route was exhausted was an FIR registered, and the criminal process formally set in motion. Another woman complained against K T Kunhumuhammad, a two-time CPI(M) MLA, to the chief minister, but an FIR was registered 12 days later, after the media broke the news.
Within the Congress, several women leaders and party functionaries have raised concerns about Mamkootathil’s conduct well before and alongside the current FIRs. Youth Congress leader Sajana B Sajan wrote to the party high command and Priyanka Gandhi, demanding his expulsion and seeking a committee of women leaders to record the survivor’s statement.
Indian politics often behaves less like a modern constitutional system and more like a network of fiercely loyal clans. When a serious allegation of sexual violence or exploitation surfaces, the instinct of many is not to ask, ‘What happened to the woman?’ but to ask, ‘Which side is she on, and what does this do to us?’ That clan instinct is what keeps turning women’s complaints into political weapons rather than legal issues.
The recent allegations against opposition MLA Rahul Mamkootathil illustrate this clearly. A young woman first took her complaint not to a police station, but to the chief minister and CPI(M) leadership, seeking action on her allegations of rape, forced pregnancy and coerced abortion.
Only after this political route was exhausted was an FIR registered, and the criminal process formally set in motion. Another woman complained against K T Kunhumuhammad, a two-time CPI(M) MLA, to the chief minister, but an FIR was registered 12 days later, after the media broke the news.
Within the Congress, several women leaders and party functionaries have raised concerns about Mamkootathil’s conduct well before and alongside the current FIRs. Youth Congress leader Sajana B Sajan wrote to the party high command and Priyanka Gandhi, demanding his expulsion and seeking a committee of women leaders to record the survivor’s statement.