On February 24th, ruling party AIADMK{{1}} members celebrated Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister J Jayalalitha 65th birthday in a grand manner with the usual loud music, distribution of sweets, announcing various schemes, organizing sports, etc. But on the same day, Vidya, a 21 years old from Adambakkam in Chennai, died at a government hospital in Chennai due to an acid attack on her. She was the second victim succumbing to an acid attack in recent times as another girl named Vinodhini, A B.Tech student from Puducherry died after battling for three months in the hospital.
Vidya was working in computer browsing center in Adambakkam, when this gruesome attack took place. Vijaya Baskar who threw acid on her was was later arrested by police. Vidya was working for a paltry sum of Rs. 4000 per month in a Internet browsing center to help her family. As per her request, her eyes were donated. As a relief to her family, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has ordered 2 lakh to be given to Vidya’s family.
Society and Governments are equally to blame!
If you look at the case from a narrow perspective, it would seem like the person who threw acid was responsible for her death. While this is undoubtedly true, at the same time it is also the atrocious living conditions, the patriarchal male-dominated society in which we live in today and also the government which has failed to provide appropriate treatment to her that was also responsible for her death. Vidya’s relatives refused to collect her body initially from the mortuary protesting against the lack of medical treatment given to her. There was no ICU ward in the hospital where she was admitted. It is pretty clear that she would have been alive if she was provided good treatment at the government hospital.
Health sector is one of the neglected sectors in the government. Indian government which wants to project India as economic super power, spends as little as 1 % of GDP compared to Western European countries, which spend more 15% of their GDP. Currently, India falls under countries who spend the lowest on healthcare in the world – 171 out of 175 countries in terms of public health spending. In recent budget 2013-acid14, the Finance Minister P Chidambaram allocated Rs. 37,330 crores for health, which roughly translates 1 Re per Indian per day. In that sense, Tamil Nadu government comparatively spends a little more (Rs. 5560 crores) for its people than Union government at Rs 2 per citizen! It helps only private players to gain profit from lack of government spending in health sectors. For example, sales revenue of Apollo hospitals group alone is more than Rs. 2500 crores.
India fourth worst place for women
According to Thomson Reuters report, India is ranked the fourth worst place for women to live after Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan. Dowry death, female foeticide, rape, slavery, human trafficking, etc. were the reason for the fourth place. The rate of crime against women has increased 7 % in 2011 compared to 2010. According to a report by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a crime is recorded every three minutes in India. Every sixty minutes two women are raped in this country and every six hours a girl is subjected to domestic violence. In 2011, It is nearly 2,28,650 cases were registered related crimes against women in this country.
Clearly Indian ruling class has absolutely failed in eradicating the vestiges of feudalism and patriarchy that only see women as objects for sex or procreation. It is such abhorring attitudes towards women that is direct or indirectly resulting in violence against women such as acid attacks, rapes etc. It has also failed in enacting progressive laws, the much needed reforms in the police and the judiciary, as seen in the way it virtually bypassed the progressive recommendation of the Verma Committee report{{2}}.
Without oppression-free society, no end to women’s oppression
In 2008, Warangal (Andhra Pradesh), two men threw acid on two female college students. They were caught and when they tried to escape from police custody, they were shot dead. Though this was widely believed to be a fake encounter, the policemen were greeted as heroes in the area. If this system fails the people time and again, such reactions are only bound to increase as people are starting to lose faith in the system completely.
While the perpetrators of such heinous crimes must definitely be punished, open/ unregulated sale of acid stopped, and the victims of such crimes be suitably compensated for life and rehabilitated with the latest treatments available; but that is not enough to stop crimes and violence against women. Demands for implementation of progressive legislations like the Verma Committee report are definitely a step in the right direction and at the same time, must be linked to a broader agenda of building a mass movement against this oppressive & exploitative system based on Capitalism & Landlordism.
Chennai
[[1]] All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam [[1]]
[[2]] Verma Committee was set up in the wake of the brutal gang rape and protests that followed [[2]]