From: prem@prem.lbl.gov (Shirdi R. Prem)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Eve Teasing etc. (was Re: More About India)
Followup-To: soc.culture.indian
Date: 7 Oct 1992 17:03:52 GMT
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Distribution: world
Reply-To: prem@prem.lbl.gov (Shirdi R. Prem)
NNTP-Posting-Host: prem.lbl.gov
Summary: How, What and Why,,,,,
Keywords: 
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	NOTE: I am "Prem". There is a different poster called "PremKumar" 
              I mentioned this because I got an e-mail in which the sender 
	      flamed _me_ in reference to PremKumar's article.
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	Well folks, I've been seeing a lot of heat, (and very little light)
	on the subject of Eve-teasing/Disrespect-for-women etc. Here is what
	_I_ think. You may think otherwise, and I have no objection to that.
	I have a _theory_ about why there seems to be such widespread sexism
	in practically every culture that we see today. However, before I
	expound on that, here is my stand, so you can see where my viewpoint
	is from......
		1. I am a guy, so some of you might already have sufficient
		   grounds for discarding my opinion on this.  :-)
		2. I am generally quite disturbed by the way many cultures
		   discriminate on gender-based basis.
		3. And I accept that eve-teasing exists, and is not a figment
		   of some paranoid feminists. However, it is not just in
		   any one country, but all over this world.
		
	Here is _WHY_ I think there are so many problems in this area.

	In most of the present cultures, the law of the land was mainly
	made by men. The world today still follows laws and standards 
	which were set several centuries ago, when women had no significant
	role in law-making. Naturally, whenever the law came upon a case
	involving a woman against a man, the bias of men towards men was
	apparent. This, IMO is borne out by the fact that the law is much
	harsher against women in those cultures where women were further 
	removed from policy-making. An example are the laws which are 
	allegedly found in the "shariat", followed by many Islamic nations.
	(I am not passing judgment on my Islamic brethren; this is what I have 
	 heard of the shariat. You are welcome to correct me if I am wrong.)

	This predominance of the male viewpoint in policy is also the cause
	of other ills such as the eve-teasing that people have been referring 
	to lately. For centuries, men have been "allowed" in all cultures to
	do pretty much what they want. There may have been laws against
	serious offences such as rape, but in medieval (as well as recent)
	times, these laws have always been relaxed at the time of war. All
	the campaigns from the Vikings, thru the Crusades, to the Partition
	war in India, have involved countless crimes against women, which were
	rarely punished. (There were other war-crimes too, such as pillaging 
	and destroying entire towns, but that is not germane to this issue.)

	Women have usually been accorded much less freedom to express their
	concerns/desires/grievances, and when they did, it was mostly men
	who provided the verdict. (eg. Hill vs. Thomas, 1991). This obviously
	discouraged women from asserting themselves, and created a vicious
	circle. Women were even barred from voting, until very recent times.

	Unfortunately, there is no lightning remedy to this. It won't change
	until the impact of female participation in policy-making has had
	time to make its mark. After all, it is less than a century since
	women have begun to participate in policy-making. Sweeping changes
	in soceity are rarely seen, and usually are not even beneficial.

	Therefore, I feel (and you are free to disagree), that the _BEST_
	way to eliminate the double-standards is to take an active part
	in the decision-making process. I realize that this is not a
	revolutionary idea, and it is already happening; it is just that
	I feel we are on the way to slowly forming a more equitable society,
	both in the US and in India. The double standard is present in both
	societies; neither is better than the other. It just takes somewhat
	different forms in each place.

	I have seen men in bus-stands, buses, airports and many other public
	places "checking out" the female populi, but that is true both of the
	US and India. Passing comments, joking about women, is not a harmful
	practice, though I agree it is often overdone to a disturbing extent.
	Much more serious is the undercurrent that somehow suggests that men
	and women have different abilities. 
	
	The best way (strictly IMO) is to look at both genders as people, who 
	just happen to be men or women. Just as we have friends who happen to 
	be tall/short, fair/dark, blonde/smart (just kidding!)........

	As I said before, that is what _I_ think. If you disagree, let us hear
	it. I would welcome your suggestions if you feel I am wrong.

	vive la difference!!
	Prem!
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian,soc.culture.pakistan,soc.culture.bangladesh,misc.activism.progressive