SECURITY: a sophisticated tool to straddle and rule the roost

The man smirks and says aloud: “Ah! Dear, you are my responsibility. It is my
duty to keep you safe and secure.” The naive she smiles coyly and bows her head
down in gratitude. “What a beautiful cordial depiction!” exclaim our pedantic
society in exultation.

The boundary of above given narrative has been artfully carved, cultivated and
cautiously guarded from centuries till today to avoid any pebble of newly formed
correct views entering the periphery. The English language binary private/ public
have further strengthened this notion. This dichotomy is fixed and in practice, girl
in pink frock and boy in blue shirt.

Power has always been at hands of manipulation by men. War as a propaganda to

protect women and children bred violence, mass rape and rampant prostitution.
Then to which threat women were being protected remains a euphoric question,
isn’t it Sir?

Women has been looked as ornamental objects decorated, with binoculars on it can
be seen kept still on the silence of rustic wood table top, increasing in the show and
pompous of house. Here, is how the idea to provide security to this object emerged.
The owner got the satisfaction that as soon as the doors were closed, he can use
that object according to his whims, he has the right to throw it and when needed
mend the broken piece and get them polished and install it again on the table top.

In Indian context, security has been hiding beneath chastity. We might have came
across the perfect story of Rani Padmavati and her johar. Women has been
presented in such a manner that they are born to serve man in their house be it
father, husband, brother or son, in guarantee of protection. The idea that the wives
or women( in general) of the lost side gets reduced to mere status of servant,
therefore justifying rape makes no sense. Women did not participate in war, if their
male counterparts lost the battle women are not ought to become piece of pleasure
for the winners. However, the patriarchal society had been very successful in
establishing the sanctity of gruesome act. Women sacrificing themselves on the
fire pyre just because their husband or say their protector died, then the story
presented as an exaggerated example of love (actually subordination) gets praised
till date. Thus, it can clearly be seen the whole concept of chastity was to
overpower women and thereby prohibit their indulgence in the public sphere. The
practice of sati too can be aligned in the same line.

Security has been successfully used as a readymade tool to subjugate women and
keep women shielded in private sphere of ignorance. Broadly speaking, security is
the base factor of every choice a woman makes. Women have been gendered in
such a way that their biological differences with men are taken for inferiority.

In most of the Indian primary schools, the monitoring of girls is common practice
during the Morning Prayer. Chiding and insulting them over those scattered strands
of hair which are free to caress her plumped plucky cheeks. Their skirt and shocks
length are measured in constant proportion with their security. Interestingly, at
some point of time government have taken steps to ensure the safety of girl child
against cultured men by cladding them in ‘salwar-suits’. The parents-teacher
meeting of girls with muscular built and habits are surrounded around how to make
her more feminine. So, man stands his ground firm as a measuring parameter.

Then comes the holy pious surrounding where female teachers hums hymn on how
to sit and talk in a correct manner avoiding signals and even be alert and active to
avoid the period stain. However even a murmur is absent on how boys can control
their outburst of sexual desire as soon as they see women’ skin which is just a flesh
as his. Each and every aspect of being women is scrutinized and reduced to an
abysmal guilt.

This agenda of schooling women for their protection, limiting their choice and
expression and yet claiming we are in civilization is perpetuated by none other than
women who already had internalized the misogynistic way of thinking. They wish
to breed the lambs of same race and keep them vulnerable so that wolf gets the
credit of being valorous.

The practice of FGM( Female Genital Mutilation) in parts of Africa, Asia and the
Middle East (especially in Muslim community, though the origin is pre-Islamic)
are in a way depriving a woman right over her own body in name of protection and
chastity. This has been supported and transmitted by women. The painful and
inhumane act of Breast Ironing is practiced (mostly in Cameroon) to protect the
girl from sexual harassment and rape.
Women have been kept under the doors taking care of their family and nursing
children. The public realm has been presented as arena of threat. Recent
development in Taliban occupied Afghanistan is example of the same. Women
must wear burqah and are to be always accompanied by men when present in
public sphere. In other parts of World, there is no such explicit rule but implicitly
still women themselves and society feels women are more secure in public places
when they are accompanied with men.

In contemporary times, rape has been used to keep the educated independent
women in check, install in them a sense of fear and thus make them resort to male
for their immunity. The increasing number of acid attacks is in the direction to
keep women locked.

However, it is the private sphere where security guarders are immediately required
to keep women safe. In this sphere, women on daily basis are subjugated to
psychological abuse as well as sexual and physical violence. The news of father
raping his own daughter brings shock. Domestic violence on pretext of dowry,
male violence brings in focus the rampant violence present in private realm. The
ancient practice of providing economic security to woman by gifting her some
wealth is now being corrupted and manifested in such a way that it serves as a
financial security for man. However, dowry could also be looked as way where the
girl child gets robbed of her right to property i.e. economic security and have to
settle on some pieces of jewellery and husband (the security provider). In India,
caste adds new dimension to security. The upper castes have never hesitated to
exercise their authority on lower castes’ land as well as women.

Security has always been gendered, masculine in nature. Men have been regarded
as rational and scientific being on contrary to women who are traditional and
irrational. Women have always been excluded in the security affairs. The top
position or the decision makers in defence of a country are predominately women.
In fact, the lower order of an army that is cavalry has also men hegemony mainly
because of two reasons: (a) The physical structure of women is considered to be
misfit for the job and (b) Government continuous relentlessness to work in the area
of recruitment of women.
 In militarised societies women are particularly vulnerable to rape, and evidence
suggests that domestic violence is higher in military families. Women

Therefore, it will be safe to say that the whole concept of security is nothing but a
myth when looked from feminine perspective. The technological advancement of
twenty first century has not been able to shake the roots of gendered perspective.
The carcinogenic roots have created a pitch dark zone where light of pondering has
yet not found its place. The educated and enlightened one too accepts the existing
norms which provide security to women- “Precaution is better than cure” as
they find it better when things are not tensed. It deems fit to voice our opinions on
social media handles and portray ourselves stronger. The grassroots, the reality on
ground remains untouched, pious and serene.

Ritika Kumari

B.A.(Hons.) Political Science