It’s Time to Fulfill the Promise: End Violence Against Women

Realizing Rights of Rural Women under the International Convention CEDAW
By Alma Grace Barla

I was quite amazed to know that November 25 is observed as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women; over time, I started reflecting on this call. The origin of this day goes back to 1960, when the three Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic were violently assassinated for their political activism. The sisters, known as the “Unforgettable Butterflies”, became a symbol of the crisis of violence against women throughout the world. To commemorate their lives and to promote global recognition of gender violence, in December 1999 the United Nations General Assembly called for November 25 to be observed with this significance.

Every day as I turn the pages of newspapers in any language or turn on the news channel, often I come across a story of terrorizing and dehumanizing violence on women and children taking place in some part of India! The terror of rape and violence against women on a land known for its rich culture and tradition has indeed brought India to limelight for the wrong reasons, to say the least.

Our Constitution guarantees fundamental freedom and equal protection of laws to all its citizens, recognizing the Right to Nondiscrimination and Equality for women by law. However, the enforcement laws have constantly failed to provide even the basic protection to women, especially the dalit, tribal and other marginalized women. We have seen major protests which had broken out across the country over brutal rape of a 23-year-old medical student in New Delhi, commonly referred to as the Nirbhaya Case, forced the government to look into these issues deep rooted misogyny and come out with the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013.

News that come out each day of aggravated sexual assaults or brutal murder of girls and women or rape of minor school children reiterates that despite the Amendments which broadened the definition of sexual assault and recognized the gradation in seriousness in crimes of sexual assault, the resistance to the new laws and the continued subjugation of women through class, caste dominance is only getting stronger by the day. This is dangerous and can pose serious threat to the Rule of Law and peace in society.

The adivasi and rural community, who once lived peacefully in harmony with the nature, also have been largely affected by this terror in recent past. Though the status of tribal women in India has been acknowledged as being better than that of their non-tribal counterparts today they are facing various types of discrimination and violence due to their distinct identities, sex, gender, ethnicities, culture, traditions, practices and customary laws.

During the colonization and building of the new nation states, the particularities of indigenous/tribal identity and culture have often been negatively emphasized to facilitate a single “national identity.”(Realizing Indigenous Women’s Rights: A Handbook on the CEDAW, 2013). The Indian nation state united the pre-British Hindu dominated nations on the basis of their common aspirations and forced ‘others’, who were in minority, to be part of if it on the basis of the principle of ‘unity in diversity’ not the ‘union in diversities’. (RD Munda & S Bosu Mullick, 2003). Thus the aspect of unity always remained dominant over that of diversity and the indigenous/tribal people became part of these ‘others’. Further, the advent of capitalism, and exploration of mineral resources & establishment of industries, mines, dams, river valley projects have uprooted thousands of tribal villages and families; millions have been deprived of their subsistence with denudation of forest, land and water resources. In the conflict zones like in North East and Green Hunt Operation belt of Central India, tribal women have been additionally victimized through physical violence, rape and sexual harassment as tools of war or to suppress the people’s resistance.

Milestones have been achieved in the development of human rights instruments and standards designed to address these issues, at national and international levels including special instrument of treaty bodies for women and human rights bodies setting standards for indigenous tribal peoples. However, these have yet to be realized on the ground. The challenge for us is to translate these documents and instruments to name the International Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and examine it in the context of rights of adivasi/tribal and women. CEDAW, which contain no reference to indigenous/tribal women must be interpreted in conformity with the UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), to enable the lives of people affected by multiple forms of discrimination to have avenues available to them where multiple instruments and bodies can work together to address their concerns.

In spite of the existence of Prevention of Atrocity against SC-ST Act (POA), violence against dalit and adivasi women is rarely prosecuted under this law, or treated seriously. The criminal justice system has failed to bring justice to Indigenous/tribal women survivors. There is very weak access to the justice system of the country by women. Likewise, most adivasi/tribal women are not aware of their rights including to due process, and have little access to competent lawyers. Further many women in custody of the police or other authorities end up being raped or sexually abused (Case of Soni Sori, Chhattisgarh).

The Indian government must examine its relationship with the tribal customary system and how they are strengthening their self-governing system by recognizing legal pluralism. The tribal people’s positive customary laws consistent with the respect for human rights and upholding the dignity of indigenous peoples can provide an alternative and more sustainable model for achieving justice and peace.

There is large scale trafficking of adivasi girls and women for exploiting labour. Migration induced by non-inclusive development/large projects/extractive industries, loss of traditional livelihoods, lack of quality education, lack of sustainable income opportunities, have led thousands of tribal women to migrate to cities in search of jobs. Many have become victims of trafficking by false inducements and placement agencies. Thousands of the domestic workers are controlled by unregulated placement agencies that induce traffic and control their wages. In spite of the existence of various laws and developmental programmes, no visible improvement has taken place. Trafficking in Delhi and neighbouring states has increased manifold in last 10 years (Times of India, Sep. 10, 2014).

The government run Ujjwala programme report states that rehabilitation centres were set up, 10,000 police personnel were trained to handle trafficking. The report however doesn’t give any account of its impact & outcomes.

Impunity for witch hunting created by lack of awareness, law enforcement and weak governance in backward areas cause innocent women to be persecuted for personal and material jealousies. In rural villages, widows and single women in particular are branded as “witches” and are thus subjected to inhuman acts such as stoning and severe torture even death. While the practice of “witch hunting” is not part of the beliefs of adivasis, it was introduced as a form of providing “explanation” to unexpected illness or bad luck for members of the village. As most adivasi are animist and have low literacy, they have “adopted” this belief, which is now being used as an excuse by opportunists to take away the properties of old widows and single women in most cases. In spite of reports filed by women to police and other authorities on those involved, many of the cases remain unresolved.

On 17th May 2013, in Jharkhand a family of seven members was shot at home while having dinner. Father was killed on the spot while mother was hit on her thigh, dragged into the forest and killed. A 7-yearold Adivasi girl studying in Sewashram residential school in Keonjhar District of Odisha was refused by the teacher to keep in the hostel saying that she is a witch, as she turns into a cat by

the nights and sucks blood of others, and was sent back home.

While there is a law to prevent the practice of witch hunting, it is not properly implemented; likewise penalty for offenders is minimal and does not provide justice. According to reports during 1991-2002, there were 733 cases reported of witch killings. In the year 2011, 34 witch killings and 196 cases of witch blaming were reported in Jharkhand itself.

Militarization/State Violence:

The Central Indian states and North East India have been sites of intense violence from where killings, abductions, illegal detentions, torture and sexual assault by the security forces are commonly reported. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, India’s most draconian anti insurgency law, provides sweeping powers to armed forces personnel to search and destroy habitations and houses, to detain people on suspicion and to kill with impunity. Similar tactics are being used in Central India in the areas where the armed Maoist guerilla organizations operate. In the State of Chhattisgarh, for instance, the National Crime Records Bureau reported that 138 people lost their lives in fake encounters. Moreover, the ‘salwa judum’ militia Dantewada has driven more than 4 lacs people from their homes since 2005 and emptied 644 villages, most of those affected being tribals including women and children.

An adivasi school teacher Soni Sori, who was accused a Maoist supporter, was tortured and sexually assaulted multiple times in custody. Even though recently granted bail, she awaits trial and justice. Ankit Garg, the Superintendent of Police, who was responsible for the custodial violence on Sori was awarded a gallantry award from the President of the India by ignoring the heinous crime he has done to an Adivasi woman. In a way it was to encourage the police officer to continue this kind of act.

Mrs. Leishiwon Mashangva (36), mother of 8 children, along with two men from New Canaan village of Senapati District in Manipur were picked up by state forces on 19th August, 2011 while collecting pig’s feed. They were blindfolded, kicked with their boots and beaten by policemen till they lost consciousness. Mrs Leishi won suffered multiple injuries due to which she could not breastfeed her 5 months old baby. In this connection memoranda were submitted to the Hon’ble Home Minister and to the National Human Right Commission of India on September 5th 2011. But no actions were taken.

To conclude with, the Govt of India and its obligations in implementing the provisions of international treaty on women need to be reflected in all the relevant agencies and bodies at all levels especially those relating to rural women. Further, there is a need to establish effective monitoring mechanisms on how these agencies are functioning in addressing the gender equality and take necessary steps with regard to the implementation of the Concluding Observations/recommendations made during IV & V Periodic Report of India on 58th Session of CEDAW held in July, 2014 at the United Nations, Geneva.

[The article is the summary of the Shadow Report on status of adivasi/tribal women in India, prepared in response to the Country Report submitted to the 58th Session of the Committee on Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), where India was examined on 2nd July, 2014 at the UN, Geneva. For the first time the adivasi women leaders from across the country came together to make their concerns heard at international level.] 

First Published in Indian Currents, 01- 07 December 2014, pgs. 11-14