'INDIA: Change Society's Mindset to Curb Violence Against Women'

Don't wait for legal and judicial reforms to fight violence against women. Be the change you want to see. That's the message conveyed by 12 prominent Mumbaikars from different walks of life who came together on a platform organized by the Asia Society to deliberate on the way forward to deal with the bitter reality of violence and women.

"Sexual violence doesn't only happen on buses in Delhi but also happens in our homes. But we don't want to recognize or acknowledge it," said women's rights lawyer Flavia Agnes urging people to change their own mindsets as a starting point. Taking forward her stance was "We all need to develop an attitude of zero tolerance to violence within our homes and outside. We don't need to be protective of our girls, we want more girls out on the street," said former city police chief A N Roy. The speakers moved away from finger-pointing to acknowledge that men were important allies in helping us fighting gender-based violence. "There cannot be gender equality without men playing a real role in the process," said actor Rahul Bose. He identified men who had come in touch with violence upon their women in their capacity as brothers, husbands or sons as potentially great crusaders for the fight against gender-based violence. We also have to raise our boys differently, he said.

Classical musician Mala Ramadorai went a step further to pointed out that even the violence perpetrated by women on other women was an issue of concern. The importance of imparting gender sensitization at a young age was emphasized by school principal Meera Isaacs who said we needed a collaborative approach to pick up subtle hints from children, to be non-judgemental and encourage them to speak out against any form of abuse. Shubhangi Shinde of voluntary organisation 'Arpan' that works to prevent child sexual abuse said they tried to sensitize schoolchildren on 'good' and 'bad' touch so that they learnt to respect eachother's bodies as well as boundaries.

With the air charged with an intention to act, each professional pledged their bit of support.

Artist Nalini Malani suggested forwarding a petition to the National Gallery of Modern Art to host an exhibition on the issue of violence and women. Gynaecologist Duru Shah said the medical fraternity was doing its best to fight archaic practices like the two-finger test to determine the occurrence of a rape.