Cutting her nose to spite his face: Violence against women in India and the collusion of power

Here is an abstract of a paper I published recently. A big thank you to the Psychology of Women's Section who thought my work was meaningful for their readers. 

The Paper is free to read and download and the link below will let you access the full paper.


Title -Cutting her nose to spite his face: Violence against women in India and the collusion of power 

Abstract -  In the last few years crime against women in India has increased dramatically. What stands out about these crimes is how the perpetrators of these crimes use violence to disable a woman; through, for example, acid attacks, ‘honour crime’ and public stripping. The perpetrators often claim to do this in order to preserve their notion of ‘Indian culture’. These notions are tied within understandings of women’s roles as submissive, chaste, modest and ‘traditional’. Women’s bodies are the primary site for this violence as disfiguring the female body sends out a cautionary message to other women not to transgress boundaries that have been laid out by those who feel they must preserve this culture. 

These understandings of ‘Indian culture’ are often invented and are tied to nationalismwhich poses a threat to ‘Westernised Indians’ particularly women. Cases such as the Delhi Gang Rape case or the attack on pubs in Mangalore which led to the ‘pink chuddi campaign’ have caught the eye of the media, however, one sees them being justified by the perpetrators on thegrounds of protecting ‘Indian culture’. When these crimes are presented in the Western media they are often collude with the perpetrators of these crimes by using these notions of ‘tradition’. Western ideas of India and how Eastern values must be preserved from Western civilisation often undermine the victim’s ordeal. 

Keywords: Gendered violence; honour crime; India; nationalism. 

Reference-  Soans, S (2015) Cutting her nose to spite his face: Violence against women in India and the collusion of power. Psychology of Women Section Review – Vol. 17 –pages 52-65


Here is a link to the paper https://www.academia.edu/12092328/Cutting_her_nose_to_spite_his_face_Violence_against_women_in_India_and_the_collusion_of_power

Everyday Racism #2

So here goes here is another one....

Hey but it is 2015 racism isn't a thing anymore. ...... Oh I keep forgetting racism has a sell by date what is vogue now sexism, homophobia?

I have often heard people say that. Racism won't go away because another year has gone by. If modernity were only a gear healer. The ugliness of society never goes away it simply morphs into something else. Yes racism today is not the same as was 10, 20 or even 100 years ago however it still exists. Discrimination against people of colour is different because the conditions we live in are different. 

While the world may have got tolerant about certain things it still clings on to prejudices but enacts them in different ways. Black men are still shot at by policemen, black academics are still an exception, even the media is full of stereotypes. In 2015 racism might not look like it did but it still operates in a way that is convenient to ignore as it is beneficial to certain groups in society. Our cheap electronics, clothes and food are a product of slavery. In 2015 slavery looks like affordable clothing and food we don't see it because we are immersed in a system that works for us. 

Denying racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia in 2015 is an act of deliberate insensitivity. 

Pause for Hope

Pink blossoms

I look forward to seeing these flowers every year 

Everyday Racism #1

Responses to racism 

Racism was much worse back in the day you don't know how lucky you are ........ Ok white master thank you for pointing out our place, is that a whip I detect in your hands? 

Unpacking the context of that statement is important. So yes we can't compare he pasts but does that mean we are to be stuck in the past? Water supply was terrible in the past as was internet connectivity should we then be happy that black people are working as slaves ........ oh wait we are still doing their bidding  

When your oppressor decides what constitutes oppression you are never free. White people deciding what is racism is indicative of white privilege and white fragility. They probably said that to people in the 60's at least you aren't working in plantations anymore be grateful we only segregate you. Or earlier - hey at least you are working in plantations not stolen from your countries and tortured on ships. 

Being racist is beneficial to society - white society to be precise. Immersed in a social, economic and political system they benefit from prevents them from seeing privilege or their own exclusion. I have had plenty of people say but being stopped at airports is fine or black men invite trouble because of how they dress. White men in grey suits should frighten us to death similarly they caused the banking crisis, started wars.

I am sorry but black people don't need to feel grateful that white people aren't lynching them anymore, neither do we need to congratulate them on behaving decently towards us. 

Green chilli pickle

This is a sweet pickle that goes well on anything and especially cheddar cheese as a friend and I found out right after we made this stuff.

Ingredients
Green chillies
Jaggery
Salt
Oil
Fennel seeds
Chilli powder
Balsamic vinegar

I use these long green chillies because they are not too hot but feel free to try this with other chillies. 

Wash and dry the chillies thoroughly 

grate about 6 tablespoons of jaggery add more if you want a sweeter pickle add water dissolve the jaggery and let it come to a boil

Cut chillies to the desired size add salt, chilli powder and balsamic vinegar. Mix well and let it marinate for 30 minutes. 

Heat oil in a pan and let it get hot but not smoking. It would be advisable to open windows at this time as this pickle is very pungent. Add chillies in the hot oil with the marinade. The mixture will boil and sizzle, let the chillies roast for a minute or two the skins get a nice char that way. 

When the chillies look like they are softening  add the jaggery liquid in let it boil for another minute or two. Jaggery will thicken, don't let it dry out. How thick or runny you want this liquid is upto you. 

I like mine with plenty of juice and not too thick. Turn of the heat and let the pickle cook in its own heat. Once completely cool transfer into sterilised jars and into the fridge. The pickle should keep for a month. I have never been able to keep for that long as I eat in rather quickly. 

Spring in all its glory

Mental health in comics

Yes my very own article in Asylum Magazine co written with a friend . Don't miss the cover image is from A Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot. You can buy a copy of the magazine from here  Subscribe. More issues on comics and mental health to come out soon. 

A very female malady

It doesn't take a degree in Psychology to know mental illness is gendered...... having said that it has taken me a few degrees to get to that conclusion. In my masters I learnt disorders have a gender, alcoholism for men depression for women. These distinctions are not new mental illness has been tied to gender for a long time. Hysteria is a prime example, wandering uteruses caused women to turn mad (insert behaving unacceptably), we now know internal organs don’t move instead we blame women’s hormones on their fluctuating mood. Women are emotional and not very rational we are told. Anyone who had witnessed men watching sport can vouch for strong emotions accompanied by violence being displayed.  Why is football violence seen as unemotional and the product of a rational mind or war for that matter? Why is a woman natural response to a bad situation indicative of pathology attributed to her anatomy?

It would be very easy to dismiss psychiatry of the past as unsophisticated in its diagnosis and treatment but have we changed? Do we ignore the present because we are entrenched in it?  We accept female hormones make women emotional wrecks, that their menstrual cycles control them. These ideas need to be questioned, as do their purpose. Mental illness serves a very strategic position in our world, it helps us lock away undesirable individuals in asylums when prisons wont take them. It also helps control individuals by telling them how to behave.

Open any women’s magazine and they are full of advice by psychologists and counsellors. Popular psychology magazines are similar in content if not style in this regard. I often look at issues of Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and Psychology at my supermarket till and they all have the same content and intent. We have become accustomed to being corrected by an all pervasive psychology that controls every aspect of our being. Gender is on the top of that list. Symptoms of mental illness are not stable as are its manifestations.

Location also influences the production and maintenance of mental illness. Culture bound syndromes is what the International Classification of Diseases calls conditions that are only prevalent in one culture. This too is an area that is seldom questioned if conditions such as depression and ADHD were produced in the west how is it they aren’t culture bound?

The symptoms of mental illness are culturally manufactured I have found. Alcoholism and addiction while understood as universal manifest themselves differently across the world. While clinically individuals may appear the same their diagnosis is based on their age, class, gender, race, ethnicity and many other factors. Women who are diagnosed with this very male condition are often seen as worse than the men. This is an idea commonly found in rehabilitations and in scientific literature. Women occupy a strained relationship with madness, often their gender is used against them to diagnose and treat them.

Reference:

Chesler, P. (2005). Women and madness. Palgrave Macmillan.

Culture, Continuity and Breast Cancer- Agnes Arnold- Forster  http://www.historytoday.com/agnes-arnold-forster/culture-continuity-and-breast-cancer

Happy Easter

I am your sister - Audre Lorde

I am tired of hearing about the gay agenda. I am tired of hearing about the LGBT community taking over the world. I am tired of hearing how they will spoil our children. The truth is heterosexuality breeds a certain notion of gender and violence to enforce gender.

You  can find this brilliant essay here Lorde, A. (1985). I am your sister: Black women organizing across sexualities (Vol. 3). Kitchen Table/Women of Color Press

feminism 101

Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of imperialism Kwame Nkrumah 1965

The quote above is taken from Nkrumah's work and you can the full text by clicking on the link below
Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of imperialismKwame Nkrumah 1965