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Milking tragedy
In the aftermath of the horrendous crimes perpetrated last week against three women, some voices were raised in the press about the indifference of women’s associations and Opposition MP Satish Boolell went on air to ask why these associations were not marching in the streets as a sign of protest for violence against women. He gave the example of the gang rape in India which drew millions of protesters onto the streets in various parts of the sub-continent.
Before responsible people start mystifying issues and making suggestions of drastic action, it is perhaps worthwhile highlighting certain crucial points:
First, the long arm of the law took no time to nab the perpetrators of those heinous crimes. One after the other, they were questioned and locked up while awaiting trial and what will hopefully be an exemplary punishment. While this is small comfort for the grieving families, it is important to highlight that no one in this country gets away with crimes of that nature, unlike in countries like India, for example, where women had to march in the streets after the outrageous gang rape before the law enforcement mechanism started working.
Secondly, atrocious though the crimes committed against these women may be, crimes of passion, which have always existed and still exist in all societies, are committed while in the throes of passion, with no opportunity to refl ect on what is about to happen.
One-third of all homicides, according to statistics, are escalations of trivial squabbles arising among spouses, strangers, co-workers, neighbours, friends and family members – killing scores of people every day worldwide. The killers do not necessarily have a history of violence but rather are human time bombs on the point of exploding if there is a trigger.
Naturally, in traditional patriarchal societies like ours, macho pride of immature and ‘tough’ wanna-be alpha-males who cannot accept that their wives or partners can potentially fall for someone else, tend to tip the scales against women. That does not make the issue a gender one and has nothing to do with feminism or feminist associations. After all, one of the women who was killed had herself killed her previous husband and was out on bail.
Last but most important is perhaps our reaction to tragedies. Every tragedy is now seen as a photo op that we all queue up for without wondering what purpose that is likely to achieve. If we don’t seize the opportunity, this is taken as a sign of indifference. What is the matter with us? Have we become idle to that point or are we simply turning into a bunch of attention seekers desperately craving the limelight?
If we want to come out of our apathy, here are a few useful suggestions: Those who were really scandalized by the murders of the three innocent women and want to show some solidarity can give some financial help to the families who are mourning the tragic deaths of their dear ones. They could equally provide funds which would see the children left behind through their education so that they can escape their parents’ tragic fate. Those who are even more concerned can pay for a boarding school in the UK or Australia to make sure the orphaned children get the type of education which would lift them out of poverty forever.
Naturally, help of this kind requires a real demonstration of sympathy and does not provide for a photo op. And that is where our sympathy stops.
weekly@lasentinelle.mu
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