Myriad Forms of Aggression

Women experience violence in myriad forms and changing political, social and economic structures have a deep impact in the way violence against women reconstitutes itself. Such violence brings forth complex realities and permeates all categories of women though the nature of violence would differ between different groups, classes and in different times. In the post-emergency period the focus of the discourse on violence against women was on concerns such as custodial rape and marital violence that was primarily linked to dowry. This gave rise to a series of legislations in this area. The eighties and nineties saw a shift in the discourse as fresh complexities arose with the rise of religious fundamentalism, identity politics, economic liberalization, increasing caste violence and internal displacement of large communities particularly adivasis. The violence that was unleashed in Gujarat in 2002 raised a host of concerns that has still left us benumbed as it did it in 1984 when violence was unleashed on members of the Sikh community.