By Isaac Gomes

Calcutta, Dec 16, 2019: On November 28, mattersindia.com carried an article captioned “Himalayan kung fu nuns challenging women’s role with martial arts.”

In my comments on the article, I wrote: “Bravo! Himalayan kung fu nuns if utilized with due respect will bring salvation to the girls and womenfolk in Bengal. In Bengali parlance, this initiative will be called DAROON! And those who get straightened out at the hands of the nuns and their trainees will call the drubbing NIDAROON!!”

“Daroon” in Bengali means very good and “Nidaroon” means the opposite – unbearable, very harsh.

The above article will work as an antidote to the increasing and unabated incidents of violence against women. In this connection, an Ecumenical Group of Christian women released a press statement on December 9 condemning the incidents of violence against women in India and demanded making society safer for them. This was reported in Matters India December 10 captioned “Christian women demand making India safer for women.”

To recapitulate, the press release issued by the Ecumenical Group of Christian women pinpointed the following incidents of atrocities on women:

• The horrific gang rape of a young woman veterinarian in Hyderabad
• A 6-year-old child sexually brutalized and killed in Tonk, Rajasthan
• An eleventh-grade girl abducted and gang-raped in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu
• An Adivasi law student abducted and gang-raped by a group of armed men in Ranchi
• The murder of the 17-year-old girl who had been raped a little over a year ago in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. She suffered 90 percent burns and died.

The women came down heavily on the failure of Churches in India to respond to crimes against women.

“How the Churches have responded to incidents of abuse and even rape in their environs, underlines the apathy of the church authorities to speak out against rape and violence against women,” the movement said.

Readers, please mark the phrase: “OWN ENVIRONS.” This means the above crimes are also repeatedly taking place within the four walls of our church premises and are for years, being systematically swept under the carpet – like water on a duck’s back – Bishop (?) Franco Mulakkal being a classic case!

Only now skeletons are coming out of the cupboard thanks to the book released by the intrepid Sister Lucy Kalappura. We need more outspoken persons like her who are not cowed down by the Indian Church’s alibi not to wash dirty linens in public. After all dirty linens have to be washed if not done in private, then in public.

The Christian women said they saw the situation with “deep concern and want to respond with courage.”

But they did not suggest possible antidotes to counter the menace. Taking help of the Drukpa Nuns is one such antidote.

How to respond with “courage”? Courage does not hang in the air. It becomes a reality only when we take it in both hands. From November 23 to 27 Kolkata Police organized “Tejashwini” – Women’s Self Defense Workshop” at Police Athletic Club.

Tejashwini means firebrand. Kolkata Police took online registration at https://kolkatapolice.gov.in. Banners of this workshop were put up prominently on Park Street and other places. It is not known how many Christian women/girls were sent by the Women’s Commission of the Archdiocese of Calcutta to participate in the Workshop.

Rather than express our agony by taking out candle-light processions and sing hymns after each ghastly assault on our women, it’s time each parish in the archdiocese encouraged girls and women to participate in self-defense workshops conducted by Kolkata Police or other credible organizations.

Instead of the Church always playing the victim card, a similar approach should be taken by dioceses and archdioceses all over India, under the initiative of laity associations, bearing in mind that the laity constitutes more than 99 percent of the Church. And this demand should ideally come from the women’s commission in each parish, considering the credo “prevention is better than cure” or a stitch in time saves nine.

The initiative on self-defense project should be funded by Parish Finance Committees (PFCs) and awareness campaign on this Need of the Hour is to be done by Parish Pastoral Councils (PPCs) in respective parishes. PFCs can try to tap some good souls to sponsor the programme. This will be an on-going process where the RoI (Return on Investment) would be enormous.

(Isaac Gomes is a freelance writer and based in Calcutta, West Bengal. Views are personal).