International Research Journal of Social Sciences_____________________________________ ISSN 2319–3565Vol. 3(4), 28-32, April (2014)                     Int. Res. J. Social Sci. International Science Congress Association             
28
 
Outline of Violence against Women in 21st Century India Das Gupta Ashok Department of Anthropology, University of North Bengal, Darjeeling, West Bengal, INDIAAvailable online at:
 www.isca.in, www.isca.me
Received 17th February 2014, revised 28th March 2014, accepted 10th April 2014 Abstract  Violence against women (VAW) is the key topic of this paper. The questions are here two: what the basic reasons are there behind violence against women and how to check this tendency. We can try to analyze this whole issue from a different perspective and that is sexuality. We will also bring in points like mode of production, young generation, institution of education, present day politics and role of religion behind such type of psychic problem and criminal offence. Keywords: Violence, women, VAW. Introduction Simply saying, violence is intentional use of physical force or power against an individual or a group or a community. This power may be social, political, economic or of other types. Violence may be in actual or at the level of threatening. It results in or supposes to result into suicide, homicide, death, injury, gender discrimination and sexual abuse, psychological trauma and deprivation. So, it is basically of three types: physical, sexual and psycho-social1,2. Violence against Women We can see this violence in terms of gender. Male and female genders are concerned here. Violence against women or VAW is a gender related issue. When we classify human beings into male and female, that is done on sex basis. But when we talk about gender (i.e., male and female), then that further involves access over to social, political, economic, religious, cultural, educational, health, civilizational and communicative opportunities1,2,3,4,5. What excuses patriarchal society imposes on womenfolk in favour of VAW: i. Matrilineality,  ii. Matrilocality, iii. Polygynandry, iv. Polyandry, v. Intervention of the maternal links, vi. Decision making authority of the womenfolk especially about mate selection, vii. Sexual cannibalism and Black widow. Mode of production We can categorize this in three categories: pre-agrarian, agrarian and post-agrarian. Further there is a need to analyze social, economic, political and religious issues in terms of these three aspects. Culture usually seems to be an unwritten book about ideal way of living. This also tells about intimate understanding of nature, generationwise gathered information traits and informal experiments by the folk people on the basis of trial and error. Table-1 Prime factors deciding VAWFactors VAW
Female infanticide Yes 
Sexual abuse of female child Yes 
Elderly women maltreatment Yes 
Physical assault Yes 
Dowry deaths Yes 
Witchcraft Yes 
Child marriage Yes 
Rape and other sexual assault Yes 
Sex ratio Low 
Decision making power for women No 
Income No 
Savings No 
Purchasing power No 
Right on property No 
Political freedom No 
Right to become a priest No 
Right to pray to God No 
Right to involve in certain religious ceremonies No
Right to get certain information traits No 
Right to be educated No 
Opportunity for skill development No 
Right to speak out No 
Right to decide on her marriage/sexual intercourse/mate selection/ pregnancy/abortion /number of offspring/gap between first and second birth 
Right to take decision on children No 
Right to food and nutrition No 
Right to decision on divorce  No 
Right to protest against certain cultural values and social norms discriminatory to her (like polygamy) No 
Remarriage No 
Widow remarriage No 
International Research Journal of Social Sciences___________________________________________________ISSN 2319–3565Vol. 3(4), 28-32, April (2014)            Int. Res. J. Social Sci.International Science Congress Association 
29
Division of labour on gender basis is also very significant. Altogether these factors decide structure of the social system. Feminist activities and youth organizations are considered as agents for structural changes to certain amount. Society has its own stratifications and in each stratum status of women is matter of concern. A woman belonging to a higher stratum may have some obligations and higher status unlike others. Dowry system, violence for dowry, dowry death, negligence to girl child, early marriage, less expectation from girl child and female infanticides are reported from various corners from the society. Burning off of a woman alive and rape/gang rape by relatives are some of the most fatal type of woman violence at domestic level. Women, goods and information exchange are modes of communication in a social system. And in this way, this communication system has become exploitative and patriarchal1-5. Young Generation Young generation believes that this is a fast life full of competition. Many of them are taking education and expect a job- private or government. In my long interaction to them, I have got some relevant terms. These include grouping, lobbying, setting, guidance, private coaching, suggestion, teacher, notes, senior, company, exchange system, conspiracy, question out, corruption, connections, fail in exams, low marks or low grade, cheating in exams, extra facility, foreign links, foreign money flow, computers and communication gadgets, private institutions and global schooling, student political organizations, part-time job, bribe, party, sex, intimate partner (boyfriend and girlfriend), living relationship, call girl, play boy, social media and likewise.  Students often have the feeling to be failed in exam or beaten up by opposite group or betrayed by intimate partner or defeated by opposite groups or punished by teachers. Many of them learn how to cheat in exam, cheat others, bluffing others and commit crime including VAW. Even they have feeling that corruption is part of our life and without political involvement, nothing is going to happen. Many want to know how to become a pimp or prostitute. These things lead to a stressful life and reason into changes in food habit, sexual orientation, physical violence, illness, sickness, mental stress, frustration, depression, suicide, ragging, kidnap, murder, addiction of different kinds, chain snatching, robbery, smuggling and guns. These are to be added with sexual violence. Mode of Sexual Intercourse I have classified this in following categories- close mating, selective mating, intercaste/intercommunity mating, pre-marital relationship, extra-marital relationship, group sex, child sex and homosexuality. These all are some kinds of communication. Close mating stands in favour of no more substructures and vehemently opposes outsiders’ interference. Selective mating stands for intra community/ intra caste marriage outside one’s own clan. This is also a type of close mating but outside clan. People have experienced that mating within lineage (cross cousin and parallel cousin) can result into expression of recessive lethal genes in phenotypes. People have created clans and appreciate clan exogamy. Either of close and selective mating is kind of closed system. Intermarriages are kind of modern approach and loosening of traditional social systems. This is linked with modernity, formation of middle class, urban heterogeneity, country-town nexus, industrialization and alternative job opportunities and has certain types of open-endedness. Pre-marital relationship is often considered as fertility testing, infatuation in adolescence and/or sexual exploitation. Extra-marital affairs are seen in those societies where polygamy is strictly prohibited. It is often thought that this is a case of politico-economic or economic opportunism. Pre-marital and post-marital relationships are often described as a relationship between two individuals of two different strata or paradigms. Marriage of such a pair is often considered a revolt against the social system. This type of relationship often leads into rape, gang rape and honour killing. Group sex has its notion in formation of a melting pot like situation among populations belonging to different strata, race and cultural groups. This is more common in heterogeneous urban areas, trade centers and places with multiculturalism. Such tendencies can provoke gang rape. Child sex is a type of severe sexual violence. However in many countries, minimum age at marriage in lower than in India. This is connected to racial attributes also. Child marriage was a custom in India and in many parts of this country; different communities give their daughter married at age below than the minimum age for marriage. A Child sexual abuse is a criminal offence. This type of thing is considered as an act of subhuman entities. This is also associated with some religious performances, blood sacrifice and cannibalism. Modern science considers this as superstition, resulting from mental sickness and this is a kind of criminal offence. Homosexuality is also a kind of sexual intercourse which is commonly treated as abnormal or peculiar. It is often religiously condemned. This might be sickness or psychobiological abnormality or reaction to severe stress due to controlled self-expressiveness in an urban-industrial set-up. People under employee-employer relationship in a modern world have generally such stress with a fear of joblessness and could not 
International Research Journal of Social Sciences___________________________________________________ISSN 2319–3565Vol. 3(4), 28-32, April (2014)            Int. Res. J. Social Sci.International Science Congress Association 
30
make a comment at anybody or on any matter suddenly. He or she has to think a lot before making any such comment. They are always under a psychological stressfulness. Role of religion It is a general belief that people have to confess before the God. A religious guidance is needed. Such type of guidance could prevent them from getting involved in such incidents. Some people worship the nature and believe that life is everywhere. Some others think that there is a supernature and they have to believe on that superpower for blessings. Some even more think that there are certain supernatural entities coming to them from outer-space. They are more advanced and immortal. They could be communicated through thought experiments, subconscious mind and meditations. Such people try to think and rethink and invent many new things. They gradually approach towards civilization and urbanism. Resources make them prosperous. Consumerism and free sex are often connected to this. They become too much dependent on the market. Their ways of living become totally market driven. They have a feeling of superiority. They have been cut off from the nature. They have to lead an artificial life. Detachment from agriculture also affects their way of fooding. Sometimes these people depend too much on fermented foods, diseases and medicine. People believe that their evolution is connected with food habits, solar rays and cosmic rays. They deal with astronomy, astrology and food science. They again believe in God gene, transmission of that gene, mating pattern, soul, sleep and death, life and afterlife, reincarnation, returning of the soul into the dead body, immortality, heaven and hell, spiritual liberation and the ultimate journey. They pray to outer-space objects like comets and stones. They animate things and worship Wiseman. They believe in spirit possession. They try to explain things and imitate things. In doing so, they become magico-religious and superstitious. Scientific explanations make them think scientifically. They are concerned about mass, energy, space, time, dimension, portal, time machine, wormhole, universe, subatomic world and mathematics. They have the duality of known and unknown. They have the concepts like zero, very nearer to zero but never zero, infinity, positive and negative, even and odd digits, complex number, equalities and inequalities, set and subsets, distributions and series. So, people have a tendency towards predicting things. They believe in the priests and purity and pollution. They have the system of faith, fear and belief. They have some notions like sacrifices, self-sacrifices and blood sacrifices. Cannibalism, sexual cannibalism, eating raw meat, sexual abuses, child sex, witchcraft and many such malpractices are related to this black magic. People also become monotheist with a belief that the Supreme Entity could be expressed in various ways. They also focus on ideal life models and how it could guide the real life. They talk about mental construct and humanity.  Institution of education They also gradually shift from gender inequality to equality in terms of social, economic, political, religious and health issues. With better opportunities, rationality and modernity, such notions are growing day by day. People try to apply these things in urban areas, agrarian set up, pre-agrarian set up and excluded populations, republican confederacies and micro-states, different ethnic groups and religious minorities. Prime focus is on equal right to education. This type of sentiment increases with modernity, technological assistance, market driven economy and rationality. And we can further see this in terms of the situation between ultra-imperialism and (neo-)colonialism: restrictions versus freedom. Women and children are often used as human shields. Woman chastity often becomes a great matter of concern. People generally take education to lead a good life and have some better opportunities. Already I have said that how competitive is life today. Economic problems and unawareness become cause for drop outs. Free education, stipends and mid day meal in schools are some criteria to reduce the drop out rate. Difference between state and national curriculums often reasons into set-back and drop out for ambitious students. Both of these categories have an incipient anti-state mentality against the system. They want to know the tricks and techniques. At the same time, the existing system tries its best to defend itself from these alternatives. This state-versus-center dilemma often results into set back for many among the youth, provokes ragging, and causes into crimes including VAW. This could also happen during institution versus institution clash. Suppose, there is some institutes of excellence in a region and their students’ unions are politically different from that in general institutes. Some of the tricks and techniques these institutes of excellence usually follow reveal to the public. On that basis, outsiders attack the institute of excellence during the students’ union poll. This is a good example of institute versus institute clash. This is a demand that students’ elections should be highly monitored and apolitical. Hospitality management, hotel business, travel agencies, railways, air hostage training, catering agencies, fashion industry, modeling, photo shooting, advertisement agencies, nursing, information and technology sector, BPO, open schooling, distance education, carrier development programmes, part-time and temporary teaching, collaboration with international organizations, various activities by central agencies, local governance and administrative control can deliver some better job opportunities. Some new aspects could be found here- give-and-take relation, use-and-throw relation, love game and blackmailing. All these things are provoking VAW. 
International Research Journal of Social Sciences___________________________________________________ISSN 2319–3565Vol. 3(4), 28-32, April (2014)            Int. Res. J. Social Sci.International Science Congress Association 
31
Present day politics Present day politics can also the reason into psychological stress out, crimes and VAW. Some relevant points I want to make3,5,6,7,8.1.In post Cold War situation, it is a general belief that this is the high time for neo-liberalization worldwide.  2.Today’s economy is highly market driven and money rotates in the market. Now the question is that whether it is rotating in local market, state level, national level, tansnational level or internationally. 3.Share market, private banks and insurance companies, nationalized banks and insurance companies, privatization processes in these institutions, easy loans for home and car, boom in cement and car industry, spending and saving nature of the people, gold and gems transactions, ups and downs in gold price, economic boom and recession are certain important things on the basis of which we can say that this global market has been regulated by three factors- political party system, banking sector and big business houses. 4.There are so many economic lobbies- Brazil Russia India China South Africa (BRICS), Latin and Meso American oil fields upto Texas, Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), oil fields in Indo-Myanmar belt and South East Asia plus Bay of Bengal region, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), oil fields and refineries in South Asia, African Union, oil fields in African continent (like Sub-Saharan region and south Sudan), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), oil fields in Central Asian Turkic nations, European Union, oil fields in the Mediterranean zone including Arab countries, United States of America and allied partners, old colonialists including British Commonwealth and so on.  5.When we talk about gold and coal, focus always goes to the black gold or petroleum oil.  6.When we talk about oil, two things always come into consideration- gun and drug. This gun oil drug nexus has its own parallel economy. 7.We have experienced so many civil wars, wars, proxy war and terrorist activities during these days. 8.Mining and energy sectors are also in progress.  9.These factors are substantial reasons behind formation of new states or regional autonomy.  10.Nuclear power, nuclear weapon, nuclear explosions, green energy, sustainable development, indigenous peoples and culture of peace are some vital agenda of today.   11.Besides separatism and terrorism, there are religious warfare, criminalization, mafia, ultra-lefts and private army.  12.On the other hand, there are sectors like health, education, administration, law, police, army, corporate, cultural groups, media and sports.  13. We are also familiar with bureaucracy and corrupt bureaucracy.  14.We are also concerned about taxation and black money. These are also debatable issues. 15.Acceptability and rejection like the purity and pollution concept is so important here. These things are applied to Afro-Asia, Eurasia, Pan-Pacific, Silk-and-Spice routes and Arab links. 16.In such a situation, bi-party system is a given fact.  17.Leftists, socialists and regional parties generally form the third alternative with factionalism and react like political buffer.  18.This type of politics often results into clashes, riots and destructive activities (man made disasters) in the name of purity and pollution under the guidance of different lobbies.  19.If there is political vacuum formed by the mainstream groups, then the suppressed groups come into power.20.Also ethnic groups, minorities and regional elements express their aspirations and are often used as human shields. Youth is also an important vote bank.  21.Civil society movements, religious organizations and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) are doing their works among these people (mostly vulnerable and downtrodden).  22.Geopolity often goes beyond the national interest and deliver a situation of mutual compromise.  23.Situations like Old Elites and New Elites could take a form and further results into a situation of progress by any means versus good governance.   24.And for all these, the most adversely affected persons belong to women and children category. 25.Women and child trafficking are there along with organ trafficking, illegal information transfer, fake currency supply, cross border activities, money laundering/money marketing, illegal money transfer, goods smuggling, bar and off-shop, weapon smuggling, drug peddling, cattle smuggling, food smuggling, oil and kerosene smuggling and bio-piracy. 26.Prostitution, child labour, sex rackets, sex slaves and various other ways of exploitations have been noticed. 27.Women and children are often used in making the human shields. 28.Juvenile crimes have been reported. 29.Women are used as human bombs. In job sector also women rights are violated in form of rape, gang rape, molestation, mental torture, casting couch, compromise, physical violence, eve teasing, bad offers and often women are blamed and/or punished for their dress patterns, liberal views, tendency towards sex revolution against patriarchy, clash between patriarchy and matriarchy, gender inequality, nudity in media, pornography, etc. Often VAW in workplace happens as a result of jealousy and revenge. Women are still considered as lesser gender and for any commercial loss, there is a tendency to seize womenfolk responsible3,5,6. 
International Research Journal of Social Sciences___________________________________________________ISSN 2319–3565Vol. 3(4), 28-32, April (2014)            Int. Res. J. Social Sci.International Science Congress Association 
32
VAW often takes on a racial line. Role of women in homestead, farmyard, small scale farms, Self-help groups, community agriculture and estates are often underestimated. Women often do their jobs on contractual basis and not get same payment at per male counterpart7,9,10. Conclusion So, many ways are here to exploit women. And new ways are developing day by day. Simultaneously, general awareness is growing. Collective response can be seen among the students, youths, civil societies, and even by political parties. Often these are condemned globally. Such incident can be a determining factor in the politics. Demands are there for more representations by women in politics, local governance, state, country and international stage. This is as vital as women in anti-corruption movements among the common people. There is a demand for help lines, women police stations, special courts, special force, safety trainings, awareness and campaigning against sexually transmitted diseases. References 1.Waghamode R.H., Desai B. and Kalyan J.L., Domestic Violence against Women: An Analysis, Int. Res. J. Social Sci., 2(1), 34-37(2013)2.Asagi R.E. and Kazi S.A., Women Desertees: Post-Desertion Problems, Int. Res. J. Social Sci., 2(1), 29-33 
(2013)3.Bharani N., Domestic Violence and Human Rights, Int. Res. J. Social Sci., 2(9), 7-10 (2013)4.Kamalapur S.M. and Reddy S., Women Health in India: An Analysis, Int. Res. J. Social Sci., 2(10), 11-15 (2013)5.Nandaland V. and Ms. Rajnish, Status of Women through Ages in India, Int. Res. J. Social Sci., 3(1), 21-26 (2014) 
6.Singh A.K., Singh S.P. and Biswas S.K. (Eds.), Gender 
Violence in India: Perspective, Issues and Way Forward, 
New Delhi: Bal Vikas Prakashan (2013) 7.Das Gupta A., Indigenous Knowledge and Women Entrepreneurs among Rajbanshis: A Case Study, Int. Res. J. Social Sci., 2(2), 12-20 (2013) 8.Das Gupta A., Migration: An Anthropological Perspective with Special References to North Bengal, India, India: ISCA (2013) 9.Kondal K., Women Empowerment through Self Help Groups in Andhra Pradesh, India, Int. Res. J. Social Sci., 3(1),13-16 (2014)10.Das K. and Sharma G. (Eds.), Financial Inclusion, Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Women Empowerment, New Delhi: New Century Publications (2013) 
<end>