Habituated as we are to reacting selectively after some heinous crime, the recent cases of rapes and murders elicited protests, heated talks and even demands of publicly lynching the guilty.

 The four accused of the rape and murder of a vet in Hyderabad being killed in an ‘encounter’ by the police on Friday elicited celebratory responses from many and criticism from others. Though one is often accused of being a right-winger, for once I agree with those I generally disagree with- the Hyderabad encounters cannot be equated with justice.While addressing crimes like rape- one must understand that rape is not the root but the result of many factors which affect individuals differently. According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, in 2017, there were 32,559 rapes reported in India. 

One must understand here that not all reported crimes are genuine- as most police officers will also agree. The basic steps which the establishment needs to take- which have been deferred for a long time- are to ensure judicial and police reforms.

 However, the roots of gender crimes and other illegal acts are elsewhere. I will share two experiences of mine as a journalist here which will hint at where the problem lies. Some years ago, I attended the annual function of a ‘prominent’ and expensive school in town.

 One was irked when kindergarten girls were brought up on stage dressed in red coloured mini skirts and sleeveless tops on a cold evening and made to dance on the pop song ‘Barbie Girl’. Were none of the school teachers or parents of the girls aware of sexual innuendo in the song which made the toymaker Mattel sue the songwriters? While thinking so, I turned back and looked at the state’s top bureaucrat who was also among the school’s board of governors.

Thankfully, he too did not seem too pleased with the ‘performance’. The person who owns this school also heads a prominent body of educationists. This one performance in one school is just an example of how wrong education actually is even in places where it is believed to be better than in other schools.The second incident is that of an interaction with a top psychiatrist some years ago. During a Press conference, the experienced gentleman said that he looked upon his daughter as his son and that the daughter too considered herself to be his son. Later, I asked him whether he would be okay to view his son as his daughter and whether he would be happy if his son also considered himself to be his daughter. I asked him whether there was something wrong in being a girl which made him treat his daughter as a boy.

 He pondered and agreed with what I had said. A year later he called me to wish me on the new year and recalled that what I had told him during the Press conference had struck his mind.I will end my recollections with one last incident. One is not proud of being a smoker and doesn’t smoke in front of the parents and some elders even though they know.

However, one day I was smoking in the balcony of our then rented accommodation when a lady in the neighbourhood found my actions scandalous and began to loudly gossip with others about my ‘questionable’ behaviour.

 She may have thought my smoking disrespectful but then she did not know that her own son, while riding back home drunk had kicked an unknown woman pedestrian on her backside while shouting an obscenity. One could list other more serious examples but these will suffice to show that the foundations of what a person becomes in adulthood are laid in the family and school. What the parents and other family members teach, especially by example, is what influences the character of a person.

 The parents actually need to pay attention to their wards. Crimes like rape are not the cause but the result of what has influenced the perpetrators. One doesn’t remember for how long the general public has been thriving on movies and dancing to filmy tunes which objectify women and even glorify molestation and worse. Such songs can be commonly heard in marriage functions and other gatherings. It is another thing that those who have become famous and earned money by indulging in such cheap commercial trash are among those preaching about equality and respect for women now. They are also among those who have projected women as helpless citizens instead of encouraging women to learn at least the basics of self-defence.

Finally, when it comes to protest, understand that in most cases they are not what they seem. Presently, there must be at least a dozen prominent protests for different reasons in different countries.

Some of these are influenced, some are reactionary and a few a genuine. The protests after the Hyderabad rape and murder may appear just but such demonstrations do not bring the desired results. This is also because many of those participating in the protests have the tendency to indulge in the very crimes they show their aversion to, when it suits them. So, will the Hyderabad encounter deter rapes? One doesn’t believe it will because the components of the problem are yet to be addressed.