Letter to The Hoot--- rape cannot be a private issue

BY apoorva| IN Opinion | 02/12/2002
What I find problematic is the suggestion to the media to treat the larger issue of rape itself as private one.
 Dear Editor,

The following are my comments on the article: "Rape Victim as an Object of Curiosity".

The writer has done well in addressing important issues that are facing the media in India in particular and world in general.

Firstly, in the context of India, the writer has done well in bringing forth the increasing tabilodization of Indian national dailies.

Secondly, she has also done well in explaining  the infringement of the private sphere by the public.

I agree with her on the first issue and partly with the second. However what I find problematic is the suggestion to the media to treat the larger issue of rape itself as private. There is a need today to deconstruct the social and cultural beliefs and taboos of rape in order to guarantee equality to women. If this is to become  a reality then the issue of rape has to be brought from the realm of the private to the public, in which media has an important role to play. However the way the media is dealing with the issue needs serious retrospection if the media is to act as a catalyst for social change.

Apoorva Sridhara

Nov 26, 2002