Rape and the Objectification of Women - Keep the Two Discussions Separate

Several times in the last few weeks, the discourse against rape has run into lambasting the deplorable way in which women are often depicted in popular media, be it in films or in advertisements. I recommend that we pick our battles. Discussions on the objectification of women, important though they are, will distract from the very simple argument that all rapes are criminal and have no justification.

The discussion about objectification enters areas that are often subjective and open to arguments and counter-arguments. Silk Smitha's career could be seen by some as an example of exploitation and objectification. When Vidya Balan replays the same life on screen, she is celebrated as an example of empowerment through choice. We rail against item girls, but Malaika Arora Khan is laughing all the way to the bank. She would, I am sure, fiercely defend her right to practice her perfectly legitimate profession.

The "objectification" debate may even be misused, to place some of the blame for men behaving like beasts, at the door of women. It may support, in a wierd sense, a rapist's defence that he was conditioned into thinking of women as "bodies," or that he was "provoked" into raping. The case against rape is open and shut, black and white. Let us not go looking for grey areas.

Take the example of the most extreme form of objectification - prostitution. A customer puts a value on a human body and pays to use it for a certain period of time. Does this mean that a prostitute is not entitled, by law, to protection against rape?

There is indeed a difference between the argument against the objectification of women, and moral policing. But it will take a considerably evolved mind to understand the difference. In the currently charged atmosphere when everyone and their grandfathers have jumped in with both feet, one argument will very quickly run into another. The fine line between aesthetic sensuality and objectification will be, and indeed, has been, quickly and conveniently misinterpreted as the 'Lakhman rekha' that women must stay within. At this stage of the battle, when an unprecedented momentum has built up in society to demand change in the way it deals with rape, let us keep the arguments clear, and culpability focussed. Let us not allow anyone to fudge the issue.

This does not mean that we must let popular media get away with the harassment it legitimizes on screen. The greatest superstars of the day have harassed women on screen, and been rewarded with the lady's eventual acquiescence. The censor board that pushes the argument of 'role model' to insert warnings against smoking, must give greater priority to warning people against emulating such offensive behaviour.

Let us, at this point, keep the battle simple and focussed. No woman, objectified or not, may be raped. Full stop.