The horror stories from Nigeria of the rescued women and girls have hammered our minds. It was a tremor that ripped through our modernized version of society, exposing the powerlessness of our global society. It mocks state as an institution in totality, not only in the North African Nation. The actions following the abduction of 275 girls was expected, orderly and in appropriate amount. There was global media outcry, followed by a “hash-tag” and military rescue operations by the Nigerian government which has resulted in more than 677 women and girls being rescued from insurgent camps. Their government and military is on an optimistic note in their war to wipe out Boko Haram.
So what's Boko Haram- A branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It has been active in Nigeria since 2009. The name of the group means "Western" or "non-Islamic" education is a sin. The official name of the Boko Haram group is actually Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means "People of the Sunnah for preaching and Jihad. the Hausa-speaking residents in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, where the group originated, dubbed it Boko Haram.
However, as it stands today, Boko Haram is more than a radical militant outfit, thanks to us (netizens). It has grown in character and evolved into a bigger entity than in reality. Its a catchphrase, an adjective to describe incidents of similar fashion. Incidents involving abuse of women of all forms, slavery and torture, neglect and spite which forces them to feel, to accept a make-believe fact that they're vulnerable. And while we speak of such incidents, there are no first order or second order conditions which trigger such events. Economic progress, it seems has little to do whatsoever with gender (in)equality. The only differentiation is the magnitude and frequency of such events. In the developing society of India, these incidents are more regular. The more such incidents are brought to exposure, the more such chaos exposes our seismic society. Maybe we need to step back in time to trace the origin of our Boko Haram.
Going by historical records, our society and tradition had started off on a promising note. From the time of the Rig Vedas (2500-1500 BC), the frequent reference to unmarried girls speaks in favor of a custom of girls marrying long after they had reached puberty. There seems to have been considerable freedom on the part of young persons in the selection of their life partners. Approval of elders was not essential, the bride and the groom made up their minds and then informed the elders though their participation in the marriage ceremony was essential i.e. the blessings of the elders were sought.
During the age of the Upanishads, the anuloma system of marriage i.e. between the male of a higher caste and female of a lower caste prevailed. The women held an honored position in the household. She was allowed to sing, dance and enjoy life. Sati was not generally prevalent. Widow remarriage was allowed under certain circumstances. On the whole the Dharma-sutras take a more lenient attitude than the Smritis of a later age. The most pleasing feature of this period was the presence of women teachers, who possessed highest spiritual knowledge.
From 500 BC onwards, there appeared changes in rituals and customs and treatment towards women. While girls continued to be married around 16, there was a tendency to marry them before they attained puberty. It was probably due to the anxiety to maintain their body purity. Lowering of the marriage age affected their education and culture adversely. Extreme emphasis was on the physical chastity of women which discouraged widow remarriage, divorce and encouraged Sati. Incidentally, India faced its first foreign invasion at the hands of the Greeks during this period.
The period of 500 years between 200 BC to 300 AD was very dark for India. First came the Greeks (190 to 150 BC), Scythians and Parthians (100 BC to 50 AD). These barbarians were followed by the Kushanas in the 2nd century AD. Political reverses, war reverses and the decline of prosperity produced despondency all around. The ascetic ideal of the Upanishads, Buddhism and Jainism which was opposed by Hindu society earlier began to get a real hold over social mind owing to the prevailing wave of despondency at the beginning of the Christian era. It strengthened the hands of those who were opposed to widow remarriage. A woman was to lead a chaste life, to aim for salvation, follow the footsteps of thousands of monks, nuns who had entered the Sanyasa stage direct from Brahmacharya without passing through married life.
As we'll move ahead chronologically, we'll be witness to episodes of economic decline, political turmoil and social collapse. The advent of foreign rule reversed some of the existing social ills against women, with the help of reformers. Ironically, it was 'western education' which sought to reform the prevailing condition of society with the help of reformers. However, our Boko Haram had been created. An effigy of our weak social environment. We chose power relations more important that equality relation, we chose chastity of body to be more valuable than purity of mind. And that is how we, as a society, have become vulnerable. Our weakness has made us more fond of “Boko Haram” incidents which will occur repeatedly, provoking the same methodological response- media outcry followed by a hashtag.
