I'm going to make an assumption that you are American and have met immigrant women from India here in the U. S.
The majority are because they or their spouses have EB-1 visas--those with Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding professors and researcher, or Certain
Multinational managers or executives.
Those are nearly always Brahmin caste opportunities. Kshatriya sometimes.
The Brahmin caste women hardly ever have to make a move in their lives without a chauffeur or servant watching over them. (India has a very specific system as to which servent sweep, cook, greet guests, hang clothes, tend to the dishes, cooking, polishing, etc. There's no overlap)
When my husband worked in India as a manager in a multinational company I was discouraged from going out by myself, warned constantly of "dangers" (I'd already been to India solo 2 times before with no such buffering, solo, so it seemed very... Unnecessary to me. However, there was pressure on the Indian branch of the company to keep me safe, much like a family's honor is riding on the "virtue" of its daughters. I couldn't step outside without our 24-hr on duty a day driver rushing up to me to shadow my movements. If I expressed interest in a new piece of luggage, directions weren't given to me, the driver didn't take me, people from I-don't-know-where were sent running out into the city to present a selection, under the supervision of out Houseman.
I never had an opportunity for something bad to happen to me
In other words, the women you have met, they seldom, if ever are left vulnerable to sexual violence. Oh, they are warned about it for sure, what would happen if they let down their guard for a moment or travel beyond the perimeter of their property if they do. The bogey-man, if you will, ready to pounce.
But... there is something called "Eve-teasing".
I encountered this traveling solo.
As defined by Indian law it is :
"
Under Section 509 of the IPC, obscene gestures, indecent body language and negative comments directed at any woman or girl or exhibiting any object which intrudes upon the privacy of a woman, carries a penalty of imprisonment for one year or a fine or both"
And:
"
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 introduced changes to the Indian Penal Code, making sexual harassment an expressed offence under Section 354 A, which is punishable up to three years of imprisonment and or with fine."
AND hell, yeah, that happened many times when I traveled solo. You get followed, men try to hold your hand, stop and stare far to long, ask you to sit down on a bench with them, try to peek thru your window.
Sounds mild? Well it's a big deal in India.
But it's not rape
So, please, before furthering the disparaging of Indian culture, with an unclear anecdotal smattering of examples, please re-ask the women from the sub-continent specifically what they have experienced.
My intention is not to cast aspersions on you, and I appreciate your input, it certainly has brought nuance and texture to the conversation that statistics or my experience simply can't hope to do. Having said that, I feel you were hearing more about the dire warnings these insulated women lived under, and the "eve-teasing", because honestly, and again no insult, I find it very unlikely that an Indian woman confided in you that she was raped, that she felt familiar enough with you to speak of this, that you understood her culture and what it meant, to admit this to you, otherwise it wouldn't have been necessary for me to explain why I believe you are not that familiar with Indian culture.
Also. If any of these acquaintances or friends had been raped? They wouldn't be in America.
College and or a marriage to someone, or having the opportunity to gain extrordinary ability, and get an EB-1 visa? Not going to happen. They would no longer be marriage prime material. Sadly that is true.
Now if you are hob-nobbing with Bollywood actresses or your examples have been raped by family members, then certainly, that will be the impression you may reasonably have.
Otherwise, I stand by my words, and am getting well fed-up with the repeated racist and barely informed declarations, as though they are rock-solid, carefully researched facts, that non-white people from non-western countries are nothing but out-of-control amoral rapists and inhumane monsters. It's an ugly, ignorant, and agenda driven narrative.
Put "India" into a search here. I counted 200 references to India being "rapey" since 2020.
Flan example from a member that hasn't been here in 8 years:
View attachment 91095
She saw a movie.
I wonder what the world would think of the U. S. if they only saw the movies The Accused, I Spit on Your Grave, and The Hills Have Eyes?
India means something to me, not as an abstract, not because I like curry.
My best friend of 30 years is from India, I've been in India for years at a time, I like the Indian sense of humor, and after my mom died, when I returned to India, I visited a friend in the hospital with a broken neck (she'd been helping a neighbor, she wasn't raped) and it was Hindu nuns who found me, and wanted to help a stranger. When I remember my mom, I think of those women with their small fluttering hands, trying so much to smooth my agony away with comfort.
I care about others knowing the beauty of India.
I wouldn't reveal this much for some of the jackals here to mock, if it wasn't important.
And honestly, I'm disappointed. You are the last member I thought I would feel compelled to explain this to.
I think I've probably used up my time here. I don't think I belong here anymore at this site. It's exhausting.
[automerge]1677861786[/automerge]
Aaaand, I just posted the above, opened my alerts and saw this:
Of course. No comment about neighbors getting ridiculous. Just another assertion Indians rape infants. That NEVER happens in the U. S. Or Sweden. Or Belgium.
Only where there are "sub-humans"
I give up.
[automerge]1677863378[/automerge]
It's ALWAYS Buddha's birthday according to the touts in Thailand.
"Oh, (where ever you're going) is closed. Buddha's birthday. But I know where you can buy gems (glass) from my cousin and sell them for a lot back in (wherever you're from) no duty!"
Banana Pancakes! Tuk-tuks! Singha beer! Boxing! Khaosan Road and Soi Cowboy!
www.theguardian.com
