(On the 4th anniversary of the Nirbhaya case, we are still a long way from creating a safe space for women. A set of recent incidents involving gruesome rapes of women across the country has yet again raised several questions about the Indian society and the judiciary. We at The Quint believe that a rape survivor’s life doesn’t end when she is raped. And that even if our institutions – law, the judiciary, the hospitals – are failing a rape survivor, we as a society need to step up. And keep the fight going. We are publishing this article originally published on 11 August 2016 from The Quint’s archives as part of our #FightingRape campaign.)
“I will pay Rs. 10 lakh to anyone who can prove that Nirbhaya was violated with an iron rod.”
“A woman is just like a flower, it gives a good-looking, very softness pleasant performance.”
“We have the best culture. In our culture there is no place for a woman.” [sic]
Welcome to the latest edition of Shit ML Sharma Says, and why we are really done with him.
ML Sharma, the defence lawyer in the 2012 Nirbhaya case, is a classic misogynist.
But, when he offered Rs 10 lakh to anyone who could prove that Nirbhaya was assaulted with iron rods, his ‘opinion’ went from sexism to downright unacceptable.
In a documentary by Leslie Udwin, he famously said: “if you put your diamond on the street, certainly the dog will take it out.” He also went on record later to say, that there are so many ‘bhediya’ in India, a woman alone in a public space is unsafe. Yet, 86 percent of rapes in India are committed by people known to the woman – her family, friends and co-workers.
But nahi ji! Maybe we are being too critical. ML Sharma, after all, has earth-shattering scientific insights into rape. Sample this – “You cannot penetrate without being excited. If you can’t do that, how can you go for sex; and how can you go for rape? A man will be excited when he gets the ‘atmosphere’.” [sic]
Atmosphere! That’s it – that’s the reason behind every rape committed in the world, ever!
But stratospheric layers apart, it looks like men in India get ‘excited’ very quickly. When a woman is in a car, returning home from work – like the Uber rape case in 2014. Or when a woman and her daughter is with her family – like in the Bulandshahr rape case in 2016. Or even sometimes, when the woman is not even a woman yet; just a 15-year old girl on her way to buy pickle – like in the Ahmednagar rape case.
Yes, ML Sharma is NOT the only problem; yes, we need a sensitive approach to rape. BUT ML Sharma IS a disgrace to his profession and needs to be debarred immediately.
Time to shut this shit down!
Script: Maanvi
Camera: Vatsala Singh
Video Editing: Mohd Ibrahim
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