Cartographies of sexual violence from Delhi to Hathras: an intersectional feminist understanding

Abstract

The gang-rape case of Delhi in December 2012, usually referred to as Nirbhaya to the very recent Hathras case of September 2020, led to mass protests and demonstrations. However, reading it through the feminist intersectional lens clearly indicates the difference in public response, political stance, and legal progression. There was a protracted struggle, indeed, but sexual violence in Delhi subsequently led to the change in legal reforms, aligning itself towards rendering justice to the victim, but in the case of Hathras, it’s treading upon blurred pathways of judicial proceedings. This article evaluates the altered textures of protest and the trajectory of feminist intervention when it intersects with the spectrum of caste, class, space, and gender. Therefore, even beyond the social and economic position, the location plays a crucial role in deciphering the discourse of rape or sexual violence. Through the intersectional reading of these two case studies, this article evaluates the discourse of sexual violence in both urban and rural India and the politics of justice meted out to them.

Keywords:

• Nirbhaya
• Intersectional
• Rape
• IPC

Acknowledgments

I am extremely grateful to the editor, Professor Katherine Brickell, for her support and advice. I also thank the four anonymous reviewers for their observations, comments, and recommendations that immensely enriched the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Priyanka Tripathi

Priyanka Tripathi is an Associate Professor of English and Head, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Patna (India). She has published extensively in Indian Literature, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, Postcolonial Studies, Economic and Political Weekly, amongst others. She has received several grants: JIWS fellowship 2021-22 (Bridgewater State University), Shastri Conference and Lecture Series Grant (SCLSG) 2021-22, Postcolonial Association grant 2020-21, ICSSR project 2021, CIIL conference grant 2020 amongst others. She has also been awarded Visiting Research Fellowship to IASH, University of Edinburgh for the term April-June 2023. She is the co-Executive Editor of Journal of International Women’s Studies (Bridgewater State University). She works in the area of Gender Studies, South Asian Fiction, GeoHumanities and Graphic Novels.