What do you think is the cause of a crime like rape? Is it the length of a woman’s dress like the ‘Delhi aunty‘ would have you believe? Or is it because girls wear lipstick and jeans like this teacher warns her pupils? Maybe, it is pornography and Chinese food as the politicians claim?
If all of these reasons make your blood boil and you sincerely believe that rapes are caused by rapists and their mentality, you have company. Four advertising professionals (Tanvi Tandon, Anish Easwar, James Barkley and Miklas Manneke) were so outraged by the victim blaming in India that they decided to create a satirical website.
Their ‘Super Sanskari Saree‘ initiative seeks to promote the message that – “Clothing won’t change rapists. Education, law, and empowering women will.”
The website mocks victim shaming mentality by saying that the Sanskari Sarees “are made with anti-rape technology and, according to some Indians, will make women invisible to rapists.”
If you ‘buy’ these sarees, all proceeds are donated to an organisation named Sayfty that helps women speak up about sexual violence.
Tanvi was quoted by News18 saying,
“We thought satire was the best way to make this conversation accessible while also highlighting the absurdity of victim blaming and shaming. It adds humour to that mentality, not to the seriousness of sexual assault itself.”
The only solution to rapes is proper sexual education that teaches men and women about the importance of ‘consent’. Let’s do our bit to talk, raise awareness and STOP victim shaming.