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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Deadly Commute

Mumbai has always taken pride in its local trains, which have been celebrated as the city’s lifeline. It has long been a democratic institution that carries millionaires and labourers alike, and a symbol of the resilience that Mumbaikars so often boast about. The brutal murder of a 22-year-old passenger inside a moving local has exposed a darker reality. The city’s most cherished public service is no longer merely overcrowded and uncomfortable but is becoming steadily unsafe. The victim,...

Deadly Commute

Mumbai has always taken pride in its local trains, which have been celebrated as the city’s lifeline. It has long been a democratic institution that carries millionaires and labourers alike, and a symbol of the resilience that Mumbaikars so often boast about. The brutal murder of a 22-year-old passenger inside a moving local has exposed a darker reality. The city’s most cherished public service is no longer merely overcrowded and uncomfortable but is becoming steadily unsafe. The victim, travelling in a first-class compartment of a Churchgate-Nallasopara fast local, became embroiled in an argument over whether the train door should be kept open during heavy rain. The disagreement escalated into fatal violence after the accused pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the abdomen. As blood pooled on the floor of the compartment, passengers merely stood there watched in horror. A video of the aftermath showed the alleged killer walking away with the weapon in hand without anybody stopping him. For years, a rough but effective social order prevailed in the Mumbai local train. While commuters may have jostled for space and exchanged harsh words, there remained an unwritten code of conduct for keeping outright criminality at bay. Mumbai’s trains have long been dangerous in one sense. Every year, hundreds die while crossing tracks, hanging from footboards or falling from overcrowded coaches. But passengers rarely feared being murdered inside the compartment itself. S Even more troubling was the reaction of those present. The footage suggests that dozens of passengers chose self-preservation over intervention. While few citizens would willingly confront an armed attacker, the images nonetheless reveal a growing atomisation of urban life. Millions travel together every day, but increasingly as strangers who feel no responsibility towards one another. Mumbai’s famed collective spirit has now become a slogan repeated only after disasters rather than a reality visible in everyday life. The authorities, too, have questions to answer. How did an individual carrying a knife manage to board and travel through one of the busiest suburban rail networks in the world? Why does visible security remain so sparse despite years of promises about surveillance, modernisation and passenger safety? The Railways have invested heavily in technology, announcements and infrastructure upgrades. Yet commuters continue to encounter inadequate policing and an absence of deterrence. The larger concern is cultural. Across India’s cities, there is evidence of rising public aggression. Minor disagreements increasingly escalate into violence. Road-rage incidents, neighbourhood disputes and social-media-fuelled confrontations frequently end in bloodshed. Patience, compromise and restraint appear to be in retreat. Mumbai likes to imagine itself as different from the rest of India. The local train murder suggests otherwise. A city is judged not by its skyline but by the safety of its ordinary spaces. When passengers can no longer assume that they will return home alive from a routine train journey, something fundamental has gone wrong.

Feminism Redefined: The Empowering Voices of Muslim Women

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

A few months ago, I stumbled upon a social media post where radical feminists criticised a Muslim woman for claiming that Islam liberates women more than any Islamic community. Her perspective brought her peace against claims that religion oppresses women. This opened a new perspective for me as a Muslim: no matter how much Western feminism liberates women regardless of gender or religion, it often alienates women with different colours and religions.


This dynamic is evident in Indian media, where Muslim women are marginalised under the politics of ‘saving’ them. Recently, in discussions with Muslim and non-Muslim women about politics, I asked their views on external forces of liberation and how majoritarian media alters narratives about Muslim communities to spread hate and doubt. One woman said, ‘Muslim society needs religious knowledge. Islam does not oppress women, and both men and women should understand this. Women should also gain religious knowledge just as men do. Muslim women should show that Islam does not oppress women and they can achieve as much as a non-muslim woman can.” Another young woman pointed out how there are Muslim men who are patriarchal and highly misogynist, further adding, “These men are monsters and are not true Muslims who treat his wife, daughter, mother, or any other woman incorrectly.”


I understand that feminists can sometimes narrow down their understanding, especially towards Muslim women, but islamophobia, often disguised in ‘isms’, will always prevail and preach to others as rescuing women from oppression, even though it is a fact that some women practice hijab in devotion to their God. One woman said, ‘Muslim society needs religious knowledge. Islam does not oppress women, and both men and women should understand this. When I asked these women about the Waqf Bill, revealed fear and anger. One woman remarked, “The Indian government is trying to steal Muslim waqf lands for their own benefit, as they do not like the fact that in Islam Muslims have the choice of donating their property for public welfare.” Another woman added, “To leave us stranded in our own country.”


These women, much like those who protested for CAA in 2019, are prepared to resist the Waqf bill. However, they call for inclusivity from others and adherence to Islamic values in their protest. “We, as Muslim women, can protest as much as we can in ways possible, but it is important that we should do it in an Islamic way,” one woman explained. I got to know that as much as these women were aware of the news and were firm in their ideologies, there was something else that was leading their existence. The ongoing islamophobia and marginalisation of Muslim women in India, while also confronting patriarchy within their communities, need to be studied. It is just as Irene Oh, in her essay, ‘Theoretical Construction of Muslim Motherhood,’ pointed out that we need to examine how women continue to suffer in Muslim communities due to their gender and patriarchy.


Indian Muslim women do not need liberation from any external saviours. They need to be heard and empowered within their contexts. When I asked these women what they think and where else the focus should be apart from islamophobia, all of the responses were pointing towards one thing, and that is “be more knowledgeable.” One woman pointed out, “Muslim women should also try to learn about their religion so that they can know what is right and wrong instead of blindly following what some people say.”


Indian Muslim women’s liberation requires space, identity, faith, and autonomy. “Islam does not restrict women from going out of the house, from gaining education, getting employment, or , other things for that matter. And to stand up for this, one should not be called a feminist,” said a woman when I asked her about where the line blurs when it comes to feminism for Indian Muslim women. It is not uncommon to find islamophobia in any place, regardless of how modern or liberal the environment or people are. My last question to these women was whether they have faced discrimination towards their gender, especially because of their Muslim identity; every response was positive. A young woman said, “Well, it happened rarely, which I cannot recall, but I did face it, and if we don’t raise our voice(s), maybe I might face it every day in the coming future,” which made me think, Is this the feminism that oppresses Muslim women? Then I remembered why Muslim feminists exist like Asma Barlas professes Islamic feminism.


Feminism or the nationalist Hindu government should leave a need to save Muslim women from oppression to the colonialists. I think we should understand how colonial Western feminism is especially for women of different faiths and colours and normalise women with faith to liberate themselves through expression.


(The author is a student of Maharashtra College, Mumbai. Views personal.)

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