SOAS Research Online

Abstract

In 2018, the rapes of two young girls shook India. The ruling government blatantly supported the perpetrators in both cases. It was also highlighted that if the victims were high class, high caste or belonged to the Hindu community, public and media outrage would have been different, possibly similar to what was witnessed after the December 16th 2012, Delhi Nirbhaya rape. Hence, it is valid for us to question what was different about the Nirbhaya case? Class and caste divisions form the foundation of the hierarchical nature of Indian society. Using an analysis of the Nirbhaya rape case through the lens of intersectionality, this paper explores how factors such as class, caste, religion and geography in India influence not only how a case of gender violence and the victims are perceived but is also reflected on the perception of the perpetrators and the resultant punishments meted out. Previous research establishes interesting intersections of gender and representation in the Nirbhya case (Dey and Orton, in: Gender and race matter: global perspectives on being a woman, 2016; Shandilya in Gend Hist 27(2):465–486, 2015). This paper further builds on that discourse to establish how the intersection of social segregations along with gender division and patriarchy, form a complex web of discrimination and violence in India.