India must stand up for gender equity for its vulnerable betis

Drawing attention to the current status of vulnerable ‘betis’ and exhorting society to become committed stakeholders in gender equity would be appropriate.

The cold-blooded murder of 25-year-old tennis player and coach Radhika Yadav by her own father in Gurugram on Thursday (July 10) has triggered nationwide anger and anguish. This tragic death of a promising young sportswoman is a very sad reflection on deeply embedded patriarchal values in large parts of India, concerning how daughters should conduct themselves, the life choices they make, and what clothes they may wear.

The victim’s friend, Himanshi, posted on social media: "My best friend Radhika was murdered by her own father. He shot her five times. Four bullets hit her. He’d made her life miserable for years with his controlling, constant criticism. In the end, he listened to so-called friends who were jealous of her success." The message added: "She worked so hard in her tennis career and even built her own academy. She was doing so well for herself. But they couldn’t stand to see her independent. They shamed her for wearing shorts, for talking to boys, for living life on her own terms."

Preliminary investigations indicate that the father, Deepak Yadav, who has confessed to the ghastly crime, was unable to handle the taunts from his peers in the community; that he was living off his unmarried daughter’s earnings and that Radhika was 'wayward' in different ways.

Was this misogyny at play? A deep prejudice against independent women who do not conform to stifling societal norms—even if they are vulnerable daughters who expect to be safe in 'father-space'? Many such deaths have been ascribed to 'honour' killings—wherein daughters who have ostensibly brought disrepute to the family by falling in love with an 'outsider' or from a different caste have been killed by their own parents. The NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) reported 33 honour killings in 2021, though expert estimates suggest that 1,000–1,500 honour killings occur annually in India, with the highest percentage in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

It is instructive that UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in his message for Women’s Day (March 7), noted, "When women and girls can rise, we all thrive. Yet, instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we are seeing the mainstreaming of misogyny."

The Radhika Yadav murder is not an isolated case, and the incidence of violence, on occasion leading to death, against women within the family fold is a larger global phenomenon. Alas, the underlying reasons are intricate. More often than not, they are a complex interplay of an ontologically driven gender bias (girls and women are more vulnerable than their male counterparts) and a deeply ingrained cultural norm that is discriminatory when it comes to the girl-child.

In agrarian societies, women were 'owned' like land and cattle, and it is only with the advent of modernity that gender equality has been introduced as a normative metric into a largely male-dominated social fabric.

Any perceived challenge to patriarchal authority and masculinity is seen as a threat in such a societal context, and it is evident that Deepak Yadav, the father of the victim, had given vent to his deep frustration within this template by killing his own daughter. Her 'crime'—an indefatigable streak of independence and grit in a traditionally male-dominated domain: sports.

Are young women safer in their married lives with their husbands? Again, the NCRB data is very disturbing, with approximately 18-20 women dying daily due to dowry-related violence. Uttar Pradesh consistently reports the highest number of cases, with 2,218 dowry deaths in 2022, followed by Bihar (1,057) and Madhya Pradesh (518). Furthermore, complaints under the Dowry Prohibition Act rose by 25% from 2020 to 2021, reaching 13,534 cases, indicating persistent dowry-related harassment.

The most recent dowry death case reported from Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu is heart-rending. Ridhanya, the young 27-year-old daughter of a garment manufacturer, was married in April as per traditional norms and was soon subjected to physical and mental abuse over dowry.

The bride returned to her parents, only to be sent back – and advised to ‘adjust’ – but this had a tragic ending. In late June, the hapless Ridhanya committed suicide and left a message for her parents: "I don’t like this life. I’m unable to continue. You and Mum are my world. I’m sorry, father — everything is over. I’m leaving."

If the family space, be it with parents or in marriage, is no longer as safe and sacred as it ought to be for any woman, the much-touted slogan ‘beti bachao’ will remain mere political rhetoric.

This is sad, for the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” (BBBP) movement launched by PM Modi in January 2015 remains a commendable initiative that should be nurtured and be the trigger for the larger gender-related socio-cultural transformation that India needs.

India will celebrate its Independence Day on August 15, when the Prime Minister will address the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort and apprise the citizens of the progress made in different domains. Drawing attention to the current status of vulnerable ‘betis’ and exhorting society to become committed stakeholders in gender equity would be appropriate.

Radhika and Ridhanya are tragic reminders.