Why are these incidents happening in broad daylight?
To be honest, it worries me tremendously that there are so many instances that go unreported, and these incidents are also happening in broad daylight – but behind closed doors. That Swati and Sonia were murdered in full public view is both alarming and in many ways expected – because the patriarchy that allows for such horrific crime against women to subsist has remained entrenched in Chennai for years, as it has around the world. I have heard stories from a lot of women, both young and old alike, of how they’ve been groped, whistled at, harassed and even beaten.
The point is that even these things are crimes and these things happen in broad daylight. We have a culture of silence around these issues, and so we either don’t speak up, or we just internalize it as normal – until the pressure cooker bursts with these murders. Look at the films the Tamil Industry produces: a majority of them objectify women, endorse stalking and violence against women.
There are boys who emulate these at the ground level. Sexual violence is very much a reality here, too. Every incident of sexual abuse and harassment grows out of a heavily patriarchal society that is filled with toxic masculinity in pursuit of male hegemonic dominance over all other genders. Period. No incident is stray, no incident is out of the ordinary when you have a social backdrop that normalizes such violence. If we leave this unchecked, we’re doomed.
What is the solution to this? Kirthi Answers:
