One incident during the present agitation is a dramatic illustration. Rosy, an independent journalist, alleged that she was sexually harassed by an IPS officer during the protest. She publicly detailed her experience and demanded action. Other journalists subsequently went to the police station with her and pressed for an FIR. The police have denied some of the allegations, but the complaints have been forwarded for investigation.
There was a time when a woman subjected to such humiliation might have been told not to make a scene. Her parents might have worried more about the family’s reputation than about the conduct of the man who violated her dignity. She might herself have wondered whether speaking out would destroy her ‘character’.
Those days are going, going, gone. Today’s vocal woman is not merely defending herself. She is refusing to accept the old social contract in which women were expected to carry the burden of male misconduct in silence.
Interestingly, many of the young women appearing at the protests in Delhi are from neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. Many are accompanied by their parents. This is significant. They are not necessarily rebellious daughters who have escaped from home. They have the support of their parents. That means the transformation is deeper than a student movement. It is a social movement.
There is an unforgettable line in one of the videos circulating from the Delhi protests. A girl asks the policewomen who have told her to leave the protest site: “Who are you to remove me?”
After all, the land she stands on and the air she breathes do not belong to the police. They belong to all of us.
The police may wear the uniform. The government may control the machinery of the State. The Election Commission may hold constitutional authority. But none of them owns the Republic.
The Republic belongs to its citizens — this is what the young women are telling us. And that is why the story of Amit Shah’s first election is worth remembering.
A.J. Philip is a senior journalist and activist. Read more by this author
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