- 1 year ago
Whether through self-defense classes or rap songs, women in India are pushing back against a patriarchal system. (Warning: This report contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault.)
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00:00India, bustling with female energy, rising, punching, demanding.
00:11I still don't see no girls behind me.
00:14Millions of women are on the move in the world's largest democracy.
00:18But a dark underbelly looms.
00:23They used to force me, press my breasts, finger me.
00:27They tortured me so much I wanted to commit suicide.
00:32A man tries to dominate a woman by making himself her master.
00:37The simplest way he does that is by controlling her sexually.
00:44You know, females are shy and they just keep their mouths shut or they are told to do so.
00:51I sometimes feel like I really want to punch a wall.
01:01Rapes and gang rapes. An average of at least 85 every day.
01:06That's one reported case every 15 minutes.
01:09And those are just the ones on record.
01:12Thousands of women stay silent in a land where misogyny runs deep and patriarchy rules.
01:19You know, misogyny is that invisible hand that edits a woman's choices.
01:25How do Indian women navigate this reality?
01:29And how does it shape their choices?
01:31We'll take you on a journey to meet women who fight misogyny.
01:35Our journey begins in northern India.
01:55In Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.
02:00It's often in the news for sexual violence, for femicides, for female infanticide.
02:08Here, we meet Usha Vishwa Karma.
02:11In 2006, someone tried to rape me.
02:16It was someone I knew. It was a friend, a colleague.
02:20Many people believe that if girls are educated and financially independent, everything will be fine.
02:26But it happened to me, and I was earning, working and education.
02:33We have prepared a board and asked her to complete it with her team.
02:39We'll do this with all the protagonists of the story.
02:42Devil. Dictator. More dangerous than a beast are some of the words they use.
02:50Usha has chosen not to marry, and made it her mission to teach self-defense.
02:57When we teach girls self-defense, it's not just about using hands and feet.
03:03The primary defense mechanism is the mind.
03:07When her colleague tried to rape her, Usha froze.
03:13That's why she believes mindset plays a crucial role in self-protection.
03:19This is a typical morning for Lucknow's Red Brigade, the group Usha helped to found.
03:25Nine. Ten. Okay? When you do this, you find your balance.
03:32The girls training with her are rape survivors.
03:35After years in shelters, they now live with Usha.
03:38Anu is one of the head trainers.
03:45It's so important to learn this.
03:51In India's history, women fought for our independence.
03:54So if they could fight for our country, why can't we fight for our own safety?
04:00The Red Brigade has a busy day ahead. Their red shirts draw attention.
04:09In Usha's hometown, public spaces are still dominated by men.
04:13But India's development is slowly chipping away at the idea that only men provide or decide.
04:20Women are growing nowadays, but in earlier days, we men put them down.
04:29We accept, we apologize to them.
04:34But now, I support feminism.
04:38Some men have a very small mind.
04:41Indian culture has always said men must hide their tears.
04:48Women don't have to, but men are expected to hide emotions because they run the family.
04:53So according to our culture, men must be tough and women must be kept under control a little.
04:58There's also a lot of confusion in India about what's really happening right now in the country.
05:07These days, women get married and then they kill their husbands.
05:11This is what's happening in India right now.
05:14So what can I say?
05:16Women are rising more and more and men are being pushed down.
05:19That's all.
05:20About 30 kilometers outside Lucknow, the Red Brigade has been invited to teach self-defense at a public high school.
05:36You have to pull, but keep one hand free.
05:42Amid nervous giggles, Usha urges the girls to step out of their comfort zone and hit a boy.
05:49Without Deepak, who plays the attacker, the message wouldn't hit home.
05:54He takes plenty of punches from Usha.
05:57It really hurts.
05:59But if the girls don't see us acting naturally and in pain, they won't really understand that the method is effective.
06:05Deepak is used to being the laughing stock.
06:09Yes, definitely.
06:12My friends joke that I get beaten up by girls and do weird things.
06:16At first, I thought maybe we shouldn't do this.
06:19But reading the papers, we see so many cases of violence against women and girls.
06:23To stop it, someone must take a stand.
06:33Usha keeps things light.
06:35The girls are shy, not used to speaking up in public, let alone fighting back.
06:41At 18, Rajni is one of the more daring ones.
06:46First, we'll hit him in his private parts.
06:49Then we'll punch his chest.
06:51After that, we'll scratch his face.
06:53That's how we can protect ourselves.
07:00The technique we showed today is just one aspect.
07:03The most important element is quick decision-making.
07:08Before heading back to the city, the team stops in a nearby village.
07:12Most Indians still live in places like this.
07:15Women stay at home.
07:17Their days are filled with chores and raising children.
07:25Usha goes door to door, checking in.
07:29You're a girl.
07:30When you step out, you feel scared.
07:32But what exactly are you afraid of?
07:34I'm just hoping that no one teases us and that nothing bad happens to our bodies.
07:43But if something bad happens, we can't even tell anyone.
07:51A little later, some of the village women join Usha for a chat.
07:55They talk a lot.
07:56About teasing.
07:58They don't say harassment, sexual violence or rape.
08:01Just teasing.
08:02A common euphemism for sexual aggression in India.
08:10If women aren't scared of men, they'll be safe.
08:14But if they're scared, they'll be teased.
08:18When men are around, women need to be a little brave.
08:22If we don't do anything wrong, no one will ever tease us.
08:26But if we misbehave, people will tease us.
08:29In Lakhnu, a five-year-old girl was raped.
08:34I don't mean kids.
08:37But listen, a small child.
08:40You said that if a girl isn't doing anything wrong, nothing will happen to her.
08:45Now tell me, a five-year-old girl was raped.
08:48What did she do wrong?
08:49What did she do wrong?
08:55As the day ends, we ask Usha what she's taking away from it.
09:02The biggest question mark over women's safety is tied to men, to a man's mindset.
09:07But patriarchy isn't limited to one gender.
09:11It's really a general mindset.
09:20We travel to Mumbai, the city of dreams.
09:23India's glittering giant where Bollywood shapes how society thinks.
09:28At its famous Mahalakshmi temple, we meet Meghna Pant, an award-winning feminist author.
09:38We'll be checking in with her for analysis throughout our journey.
09:42Mahalakshmi is the Hindu goddess of prosperity and fortune, worshipped by millions across India.
09:49Women are often seen in binaries, you know, the good woman versus the bad woman.
09:55So she's either a virgin or a whore.
09:58We have this notion of idealized femininity.
10:01So we put women on a pedestal and we worship them as long as they're silent.
10:06But this exacerbation of violence that we're seeing against women is coming because women are pushing back.
10:11And that'll stop only when we debunk this theory of women in their idealized femininity.
10:19But debunking what Meghna calls idealized femininity is an uphill task, for men and women alike.
10:27Even a feminist like Meghna had to unlearn it.
10:31We'll hear more about that later.
10:32It's coded in our lullabies, in our nursery rhymes, in our text groups, in our TV shows, in our family WhatsApp groups.
10:42So unlearning misogyny and of course calling it out is the first act of rebellion and fighting against it is the rest of our lives.
10:51So we're all going to be the first act of our lives.
10:52How are you?
10:53Hey.
10:54Hi.
10:55What's up?
10:56I'm J. Queen.
10:57A.K.A. Jacqueline Melvin Lucas.
10:58I'm a singer, rapper, performer, songwriter from Mumbai.
10:59But I was born in Chennai.
11:00I rap in English and Tamil.
11:01Let's go.
11:02A.K.A. Jacqueline Melvin Lucas.
11:03I'm a singer, rapper, performer, songwriter from Mumbai.
11:09But I was born in Chennai, I rap in English and Tamil.
11:13Let's go.
11:14On a sweltering Sunday afternoon, Jacqueline Melvin Lucas.
11:19During Sunday afternoon, Jacqueline Lucas, a.k.a. Jay Queen, takes us to a rap cypher in a Mumbai park, an almost entirely male world.
11:35Even though she's already a well-known name in the city's nascent rap scene, she still has to fight for her spot.
11:49Anger features in many songs. Going solo was tough. Jacqueline eventually teamed up with other female rappers to kickstart her career.
12:13Five rising stars who call themselves Wild Wild Women. Their signature track shares the same name.
12:20The song is filled with five powerful women's story. How we all have our own individual stories, wherein we all have been betrayed, we all have been like, you know, said you can't do this.
12:35But we are going to roam freely. We are the barriers breaker. We are the future. And nobody can stop us from that.
12:44She may be wild on stage, but she's her homebody at heart. Her favorite place to be is with her mother, her hero.
12:52In her care, Jacqueline recharges. And nothing beats mom's food.
12:59My mom, like, she has always been in this house. She has gave up on her dreams.
13:05And she wanted to be a officer, a police officer, but she was not able to because we were born and she had to take care of us.
13:13I never imagined my daughter would come this far. She's so brave. She really fights for herself.
13:22Violence against women happens because people were never taught to respect them.
13:28In the old days, women were confined to the kitchen. They couldn't work or even step outside.
13:33We also didn't have mobiles then. Now there are smartphones, laptops, the internet, everything.
13:48Women can learn so much now.
13:52But pressure on women remains. Society wants them to be modest, good girls and settle down with a man.
13:59First of all, it was unexpected for my relatives and my friends that, you know, I would be something like this, what I am right now.
14:09Even they sometimes tell my mom and dad, like, what is she doing? She's just going outside wearing this kind of clothes, showing her stomach, her cleavage and like, you know, putting lipsticks, putting heavy makeup on her face.
14:22Why do you even allow her? This is what you have taught her? I mean, it's better. She can see my son. He's an engineer.
14:30All of this finds its way into her songs. Jacqueline writes most of them at home. Her creative hub is the small balcony of the family flat.
14:39If I would have stopped my dream few years back, I would have been in a call center taking calls. Hey, this is Jacqueline. How can I help you?
14:48But I did not. I was stubborn towards my passion. Music is like breathing for me. I was really stubborn. I want to do it. I know I will do it. And here I am.
15:00Cosmopolitan Mumbai is more progressive than most of India. But even here, women have to watch their backs.
15:17Jacqueline travels across the city for her gigs, often alone, often at night, usually by train.
15:24Right now, she's on her way to a late night show at a club.
15:28Each and every street, the women are not safe at all.
15:33People out there who have the authority, they are not taking proper actions towards the person who is doing it.
15:42You know, the victim is being cursed more than the criminal.
15:47Past midnight, the atmosphere in the club is electric. Jacqueline is in her element.
15:54She says music is her most powerful weapon in her quest to be herself, to be a wild Indian woman.
16:07In another part of Mumbai, Meghna Pant heads to Jayen Petit, one of Mumbai's oldest and finest public libraries.
16:27The feminist author grew up in privilege, went to elite schools, traveled the world.
16:33But it still took Meghna five years to leave an abusive marriage, an experience that shaped her novel, Boys Don't Cry.
16:40Here I was, with my chest cut open, my heart cut open, allowing people to get in and break me so wide open that nothing inside me could live again.
16:50Like so many Indian women, Meghna felt trapped in her marriage, convinced she had no choice but to stay.
16:58You can be marriage free and still be a woman. Yet women in India thought that unless and until we are obedient daughters and mothers and servile wives, silent wives, we are not complete, we are not whole.
17:12If you must do one thing in life, it's to get married and to remain married no matter what.
17:18Societal change needs strong signals from the top. But what if the top is part of the problem?
17:24In 2024, an election watchdog found more than 150 lawmakers accused of violence against women.
17:32Sixteen of them faced rape charges. Yet voters chose them. Many Indians put their faith in male strongmen who promised development.
17:42Parliament and much of the judiciary remain male bastions.
17:48A man will rape and he'll rape brutally. He will even kill while raping and yet walk away scot-free.
17:58So yes, we need development. Yes, we need glossy roads. But what's the point of these glossy roads upon which women cannot tread?
18:07Unless and until we are dismantling the patriarchy, we are annihilating the manosphere and we are unshackling toxic masculinity.
18:17All this means nothing, honestly.
18:21Dismantling patriarchy, annihilating the manosphere. But how? Our journey takes us to Punjab, a socially conservative northwestern state known as India's bread basket.
18:40In its capital, Chandigarh, we meet Sheshandeep Kaosidu. She's taking a rare break from studying.
18:50She wants to be a civil servant. But India's exams are among the toughest in the world.
18:55Millions apply. Only a few succeed. Sheshandeep does yoga to calm her mind.
19:01I was always attracted towards spirituality, towards yoga, meditation and breathing exercises.
19:11And when I do these things, I feel like I'm into some kind of different zone and it's so calming. It's so relaxing.
19:20I feel like this is the thing I should do over again and again.
19:29Sheshandeep splits her time between studying in Chandigarh and her native village, five hours away.
19:36With every kilometer, the journey takes us deeper into tradition. Yoga out in the open in her ancestral village, unthinkable.
19:45I feel like there are more eyes on you and you have to behave in a certain way. You have to wear certain clothes, right?
19:54So yeah, I behave accordingly. When I'm in the village, there's a different kind of person I am. And when I'm in the city, I'm the different one.
20:03Manakana, a village of 600 people and about 100 households. Only half the women here can read or write.
20:15And as in many parts of India, there are many more boys than girls. This is where Sheshandeep's journey began.
20:22As the Sarpanch or elected head of the village. Possible only due to the female quota in local politics. And because her father is a well-known man.
20:33I never planned to become a Sarpanch or it was not in my list ever. So because of the reservation given by the government and because of that rule, that idea popped up in the minds of my parents.
20:48And that's why this thing happened. People used to judge me because they thought that I can't do this Sarpanchy thing. These things that you are trying to change are not there in the part of the culture in our village.
21:10Most villagers expect their Sarpanch to deliver tangible things. Fix roads, build new roads, bring electricity and jobs. Sheshandeep chose a different path.
21:24As she takes us through her village, we notice red nameplates on the houses. In the past, these only carried men's names. During Sheshandeep's five-year term as Sarpanch, women's names were added.
21:37Normally what happens is their role gets underrated. That's unnoticed. And I wanted, first of all, that females themselves should recognize their importance, their significance and the role they play in the society.
21:52Our next stop is the community library. It's closed today. But for Sheshandeep, it's crucial to changing patriarchal thinking.
22:06I think education is the prior thing that every female should have. And when they have education, they can question the society, they can question the norms, and they get empowered with the education.
22:20Before long, we reach the small village school. Sheshandeep directed funds to these classrooms. They are for boys and girls, still rare in much of India, where many schools remain divided by gender.
22:35When kids are going to school, students, they should be taught in a different way. They should be taught emotions like sympathy, empathy, and when they are there with females, how to behave well in the society, they should not do teasing or following a girl.
23:00Later in the afternoon, Sheshandeep meets a few village women. Stitching classes give them a small income. Soon the conversation turns to the latest brutal rape cases making headlines.
23:20Why this cruelty? Why only against girls? Women have equal rights, but because we're women, we're held back. If we were men, we'd be equal with other men.
23:33Yes, yes. The men need to change. Earlier people were uneducated, they didn't know much. But now people are educated and there's a big difference.
23:45With education, men must change and give us women a better life.
23:52Sheshandeep treads a fine line between tradition and modernity. Radical Western feminism isn't her language. She respects tradition and a culture built around family and marriage.
24:05Marriage is something that's going to happen to everyone in the society. And I think marriage is a concept which is very essential for a society. And I'm looking forward to that.
24:20We want to preserve our culture. We can't be like transferring from traditional to totally westernized thing. That's not the solution. Otherwise we will lose ourselves with who we are from where we have come.
24:35Her father tells us the neem tree in the family's yard was planted to celebrate Sheshandeep's birth. He passed the family's transport business to her brother. Her mother is a teacher.
24:51There shouldn't be any difference in how we feel. But from the moment a girl is born, people start saying she shouldn't have been born. That she should have been a boy. Only a boy is seen as perfect. If it's a girl, fathers don't want to know. But why? Why don't we see that this is so very wrong?
25:09What's important is that it's often the women themselves who start this kind of discrimination. The mother of the girl or the grandmother. They're the ones who think, oh no, now we have a daughter.
25:21We are back at Mumbai's famous J.N.P.T. Library. In its grand study room, young men and women prepare for their future. They are at the heart of one of Meghna.
25:51J.N.P.'s essays on feminism, which she wants to share with us.
25:56Feminism is not about women versus men, but women and men versus a system that is unfair. The system of patriarchy that has failed us all as human beings. And being a feminist is being a good human. It's really as simple as that.
26:14Our journey comes to an end. Sexual violence against women is a global pandemic. But in India, it's much more systemic than in most democracies because patriarchy and misogyny are so deeply entrenched.
26:28At Mumbai's marine drive, Meghna begins jotting down her thoughts on women's lives here. Strong women like Jacqueline, Usha and Sheshandeep.
26:41Women, yeah, they need to change. Break those barriers. You know you are strong inside. You know you can do it. But you are just scared to show it thinking what people will think about you.
26:54I think the most important thing is for a woman to be proud of herself. Because once a girl can say she's proud to be a woman, she is empowered.
27:12Females have the capability to run the government and they should go forward. Because if a female can run a house, they can manage the government also.
27:24Meghna has filled the board with opposites. To anyone else they might clash, but to her they make perfect sense.
27:31For an Indian woman, you are going to feel all of this. You will feel like one day you are a Devi, the next goddess, the next day you are a villain in someone's story and most often in your own life story.
27:47It's all something that every woman should be proud of. Of surviving here, of thriving here.
27:55Of surviving here.