At least two billion must rise

Spiders can teach a few things about this cruel world. Black widow spiders have their females who eat male partners after mating. The wolf spider species have been observed to cannibalise on older females, while preferring mating with virgins. Then there is this European species whose offsprings eat their mothers. Rape commited by men would have been a similar freak of nature if the rapists, for the life of me, could explain how they can respect their own mothers, wives, sisters and daughters after they violate those of others.
Women around the world themselves have been striving to reconcile that quandary. Throughout modern history, numerous movements have emerged in the wake of their efforts to find a remedy. Activist Emma Goldman and American playwright Eve Ensler got together fifteen years ago to launch yet another but a more organised movement. They call it "One Billion Rising," which, every year on the Valentine's Day, organises events worldwide to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalise the spirit of existing anti-violence organisations.
So, they are not only talking about rape, but violence against women including beating. This is where the matter gets complicated. Some men beat their own women and domestic violence is common in all countries. There are other men who like to abuse the women of others. It's hard to tell how many men under both categories are involved in these despicable crimes.
But the number of women who are victims is estimable. The UN says that one out of three women on the planet will be beaten or raped in her lifetime. Since the world has approximately three billion women, one-third of that is roughly one billion, which is what formed the title of the V-Day movement.
The movement claims to have made some progress. It has broken taboos by speaking the word "vagina" in 50 languages in 140 countries. Amongst other things, it has exposed many incidents of violence against women, helped women speak up in many countries and its activists across the planet have created and changed laws.
But how far has that worked to curb violence against women? The latest statistics from a number of countries show that incidence of rapes has fluctuated across the world, going up in some and going down in others. What about domestic violence and physical abuse of women? The latest figures available don't look encouraging.
Between them, male and female genders appear to be historically locked in an endless tension. Perhaps a great deal of it is natural. Perhaps it's driven by their impulses and instincts since every individual is a product of his and her wiring, reacting to the world according to their internal combustion.
That is why not all men are abusive. There are men who open car doors for their women, pull chairs for them at dinner tables, hold doors open ahead of them, buy flowers and gifts on anniversaries and share conjugal life on an equal footing. There are plenty of romantic men, who make it a purpose in life to love their women.
A crime is perhaps as good or as bad as punishment. Deep in the heart of Jharkhand in India, the Ho tribesmen punish a rapist by forcing him to give a goat or some cockerels to the victim's family. Even in this country, rapes are resolved by asking a rapist to marry his victim or giving compensation in cash or kind, mostly a plot of land in the name of girl's family.
In domestic violence, cruelty gets crueler. Mindless men take out their anger on wretched wives. Rape is a crime that is more defined and the enemy is clearly identified. And, most of the time the perpetrators of this crime are complete strangers. Cruelty hurts more when it comes from the loved ones. Pain is more painful when the hands that are meant to care and protect indulge in oppression.
Scientists speculate that there is an element of sacrifice in the cruelty of spiders. Once a male has mated, he is unlikely to mate again. Thus his life can be more useful if he is consumed by his partner to provide nutrition to her eggs.
Human cruelty has no sublime goal but to draw pleasure from the pains of others. This cruelty has many faces as it also has many forms. Whether done to animals, humans or nature, cruelty only provides nutrition to its own horror.
There are seven billion people in this world, and "One Billion Rising" is only a symptom of the sickness, not its cure. If violence against women is showing no respite, it's probably either because the number of men who cannot love women has remained unchanged or increased. Roughly half-and-half in distribution, at least one billion men have to join one billion women to make it work.

The writer is Editor, First News and an opinion writer for The Daily Star.
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