A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
(Full Story)
Search This Blog
Back to 500BC.
==========================
Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Indian women wear cow masks to ask: are sacred cattle safer than us?
Kolkata artist Sujatro Ghosh’s latest project points to country’s veneration of cows to highlight rising violence against women
Behind
the mask: the project questions whether it is safer to be a sacred
animal than a woman in India. Photograph: Sujatro Ghosh--Ghosh says he has been inundated with offers by women to pose for the project. Photograph: Sujatro
Ghosh
Holy cow: the animal is revered by many in India. Photograph: Sujatro Ghosh--There has been a surge in violence against religious minorities in the name of protecting cows. Photograph: Sujatro Ghosh-- A woman dressed as a cow at a diner. Photograph: Sujatro Ghosh
Ghosh
Indian
women are posing in cow masks as part of a provocative photographic
series that asks: is it safer to be a sacred animal in India than a woman?
The gang-rape and murder of a Delhi student in 2012 sparked a national
conversation about violence against women but, more than four years
later, police statistics show
reported rapes and molestations have not significantly fallen in the
capital. At least six rapes and 12 molestations were reported daily in
2016.
The conviction rate for sexual offences has declined, from about 50% in the year of the infamous Delhi attack, to less than one-third last year.
Women’s groups attribute the stubbornly high rates to deeply entrenched
patriarchal attitudes, poorly trained or insensitive police and
inadequate street lighting and CCTV cameras in parts of the city.
Over the same period, there has been a surge in violence against
religious minorities and low-caste Hindus in the name of protecting
cows, an animal revered by many.
The two trends are juxtaposed in Kolkata artist Sujatro Ghosh’s latest
project, which features women wearing cow masks posing outside
landmarks, on trains, or lounging about in their homes.
“The core issue is women’s rights and protection,” he said. “I’m not
against protecting cows, I love animals. But I’m concerned about my
country’s sociopolitical scenario.”
Ghosh said the project highlights the contrast in attitudes towards
women and cows, while showing solidarity with the victims of both male
and mob violence.
“Actually fighting with these politicians or extremist groups physically
was never an option … so my primary intention is to create awareness
among people,” he said.
Ghosh has been inundated with offers by women to pose for the project,
which has grown in popularity over the last fortnight after several
high-profile mob killings of Muslims.
An analysis last week by the IndiaSpend data journalism website found
that 97% of cow-related violence in the past eight years took place
after 2014, when India elected a Hindu nationalist government led by
prime minister Narendra Modi.
Modi campaigned on a platform of banning cow slaughter and, though he
has condemned the mob killings, lower-rung members of his Bharatiya
Janata party have regularly excused or justified violence in the name of
defending cows.
Punishments for cow smuggling or slaughter have also been toughened since Modi took power.