MP Sisters Thrashed For Talking To Male Cousins. Will We Ever Stop Policing Women?

Viral video sisters beaten: With each passing day, there comes some hope - if even tiny slivers - of women taking another step towards equality and dignified living in the world. But every day around sundown that hope dies a quick death as one inevitably comes across an incident that is evidence of girl and women's safety still being a far dream.

Recently, two sisters from a tribal community in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district were assaulted brutally by family members for talking on the phone to male cousins on the maternal side. The horrific episode occurred last month on June 22 but only reached authorities some days later after a video of the same had gone viral, as per reports.

In the video, one of the two sisters (aged 19 and 20) is seen being beaten with sticks and dragged by the hair by men, even as she pleads for them to stop.

(Trigger warning: The following contains visuals of physical assault. Viewer discretion advised.) 

See the viral video here: 

I have received another complaint of a woman being brutally beaten up by a mob. If anyone can update me on this case : wrt location and date.
What kind of a barbaric society have we become, the person is laughing while filming this! No fear of the law? Contempt of SC judgments! pic.twitter.com/kl1CNUIs6S

— Tehseen Poonawalla Official 🇮🇳 (@tehseenp) July 4, 2021

In Viral Video Sisters Beaten: Are Daughters Safe In Families?

The girls were initially hesitant to register a complaint in the assault incident but later gave a police statement, reportedly leading to the arrest of seven family members.

Aside from exposing the basest human instincts, the video and violence raise several questions: In stigmatising conversation between youths of the opposite genders, who is affected most? How far is policing women adding to the culture of oppression? What is being done in regressive areas for spreading awareness about and implementing safety measures for young girls? Must girls live in fear of their own families now?

Last month, Uttar Pradesh Women’s Commission, Meena Kumari stirred controversy saying that in a bid for safety, "Girls should not be given mobile phones. Girls talk with boys on phones for hours and later run away with them." She denied making the statement later after social media outraged.

When our leaders in power demonise survivors and victims of harassment this way or urge women to stop making boyfriends if they want to save themselves from atrocities, what hope do we have for citizens in backward places to understand how this contributes to misogyny? Are authorities doing enough for real action towards safety with enough preventative measures?