The use or abuse of women’s rights is a common thread binding these two seemingly unrelated developments that hit the headlines recently. On the one hand, the report pertaining to the arrest of a Zomato delivery man physically assaulting a social media influencer has turned on its head with the police now filing a case against the female customer; on the other, there is a genuine and long-pending demand for criminalising marital rape in India. As far as the Bengaluru developments are concerned, the incident reflects the customer’s sense of entitlement on account of being moneyed, power-wielding AND a woman. The customer, Hitesha Chandranee, a beauty influencer, had accused the Zomato delivery agent, Kamaraj, of attacking her after delaying her order’s delivery. Now, the alleged perpetrator — who was arrested, released on bail and has since been temporarily suspended by the online platform — has filed a case against her claiming that she accidentally hurt herself. This incident reveals one side, where women could present themselves as victims while actually being the perpetrators.

The other, diametrically opposite angle, pertains to their true plight, like in the instances of marital rape. Already made to feel unsafe at the workplace or on the roads, they have not been safe within their own homes, too. The instances of domestic violence during the lockdown are a case in point where they were forced to remain closeted at home with their family. In this backdrop, the NCP’s Rajya Sabha MP, Vandana Chavan, made an authentic demand asking the Government to take steps to criminalise marital rape. This was not only a demand by women’s organisations but also the norm as laid down by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW), she rightly pointed out. According to data, 10 per cent to 14 per cent of the married women in India are raped by their husbands. Though many countries have already criminalised marital rape; India is one of 36 such countries where it is not yet penalised. While there is no denying the shameful fact that even in this time and age, the fair gender is shortchanged and often subjected to harassment and gender inequality, owing largely to the patriarchal mindset, the other side of the coin — where undeserving members of the gender encash their feminity to settle scores, as in dowry-related or stalking cases — must also be addressed by the nation’s women.

The use or abuse of women’s rights is a common thread binding these two seemingly unrelated developments that hit the headlines recently. On the one hand, the report pertaining to the arrest of a Zomato delivery man physically assaulting a social media influencer has turned on its head with the police now filing a case against the female customer; on the other, there is a genuine and long-pending demand for criminalising marital rape in India. As far as the Bengaluru developments are concerned, the incident reflects the customer’s sense of entitlement on account of being moneyed, power-wielding AND a woman. The customer, Hitesha Chandranee, a beauty influencer, had accused the Zomato delivery agent, Kamaraj, of attacking her after delaying her order’s delivery. Now, the alleged perpetrator — who was arrested, released on bail and has since been temporarily suspended by the online platform — has filed a case against her claiming that she accidentally hurt herself. This incident reveals one side, where women could present themselves as victims while actually being the perpetrators.

The other, diametrically opposite angle, pertains to their true plight, like in the instances of marital rape. Already made to feel unsafe at the workplace or on the roads, they have not been safe within their own homes, too. The instances of domestic violence during the lockdown are a case in point where they were forced to remain closeted at home with their family. In this backdrop, the NCP’s Rajya Sabha MP, Vandana Chavan, made an authentic demand asking the Government to take steps to criminalise marital rape. This was not only a demand by women’s organisations but also the norm as laid down by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW), she rightly pointed out. According to data, 10 per cent to 14 per cent of the married women in India are raped by their husbands. Though many countries have already criminalised marital rape; India is one of 36 such countries where it is not yet penalised. While there is no denying the shameful fact that even in this time and age, the fair gender is shortchanged and often subjected to harassment and gender inequality, owing largely to the patriarchal mindset, the other side of the coin — where undeserving members of the gender encash their feminity to settle scores, as in dowry-related or stalking cases — must also be addressed by the nation’s women.