Delhi pantomime warns women of rape threat

NEW DELHI - Beating drums and ringing bells, a group of young boys, girls and middle-aged men, their faces painted, go through New Delhi's poorer settlements calling on housewives to come and watch a pantomime - on rape.

An unusual topic for a community play in conservative India. But given the city's reputation as the country's "rape capital", it is not surprising the group has found a large audience.

Performing in streets and parks across the capital, the troupe has struck a chord with thousands of women who are often too shy to seek information or too ignorant to understand the dangers stalking them.

Using mimes, the performers enact tales of women falling victim to rape - sometimes to strangers but more often to their own family or friends.

For 14-year-old Rimpy, who often faces sexual harassment from men her father's age on her walk from school, the play has been an eye-opener.

"Today, for the first time I have actually got a very clear picture of what men do to the girls, how they mistreat them," she said.

The project, called Parivartan (Change), is part of an initiative started by Delhi police - who have been criticised for not stemming the growing number of rapes.

In 2004, rapes in Delhi accounted for 30 percent of all rapes recorded in the country's 35 major cities, with 457 out of a total 1510 reported.

The National Crime Records Bureau said rapes in Delhi increased to 651 last year and were forecast to rise to 790 this year.

Women's rights activists say the number of rapes are much higher because most women are too scared to speak out. The bureau says a woman is raped every 30 minutes in India.

Rape victims are often ostracised by their communities and sometimes blamed for the attack. In one case, village elders forced a woman to marry the rapist - her own father-in-law.

Then there was a pregnant woman who killed herself after being raped, and a school principal who raped a 16-year-old student by luring her with the promise of a study certificate.

One rapist caused a public outcry when pleading to be acquitted, telling the court he would marry his victim because no one else would have her now. The judge jailed him for life.

The police are now on a charm offensive to salvage a tarnished image and prove they are doing something.

Besides the popular street plays, the police are holding self-defence classes for women, posting female constables in hotspots and setting up 24-hour helplines to provide counselling and information.

Police say the project is already showing results. Parents are more aware of leaving their young daughters with neighbours and women are taking more precautions.

Rape cases in northwest Delhi - considered the epicentre of such crimes because of cheek-by-jowl poor areas - dropped to 61 in the past five months from 93 during the same period last year.

Police say because of the success, they are now replicating the project in other parts of the capital. Some young women, however, say the project is just window-dressing.

"I feel very, very unsafe and I do not even know to what extent should I trust the authorities that are there to protect me," says 21-year-old Shymaine.

Rights groups say police sometimes rape victims reporting the crime; last year a drunken constable raped a woman on Mumbai's most famous and crowded seaside street.

Sociologists say that while giving women the tools to protect themselves is a positive start, changing the mindset of India's men, who generally view women as objects, is the key to combating sexual violence.

"You need to bring about this attitudinal change of men where women [are seen] in a more respectful and compassionate way," says Renuka Singh, professor of sociology at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Women's groups say legislation also needs to be reviewed. Rape sentences are often light and there is a very low rate of convictions: 19 out of 20 accused walk free.

- REUTERS