India is fast emerging as a global power, but for half of its population, the women across the country, struggle to live life with dignity. Women, irrespective of their class, caste and educational status, are not safe in the modern society. Women have been the victims of exploitations since long time in different fields in their life- physically, socially, mentally and economically. There are several causes of sexual as well as moral abuse which are very often highlighted by the media in Indian contemporary society, but a lot of those also remain unexplored. Women are facing problems in every sphere of life whether employment, access to health care or property rights. India is fast developing but women in India continue to be discriminated. The declining sex ratio in India amply portrays the discrimination shown towards women at the stage of birth. They are victims of crime directed specifically at them- rape, kidnapping and abduction, dowry-related crimes, molestation, sexual harassment, eve-teasing, etc. It is realized that the long run supremacy of male over female in all respect in the patriarchal society in India is highly responsible for arresting the empowerment of women.
The Millennium Development Goals commit the 191 member states of the United Nations to sustainable, human development and recognize that equal rights and opportunities for women and men are critical for social and economic progress. This must include addressing violence against women—a concrete manifestation of inequality between the sexes.
There is a growing body of evidence from research that suggests that violence against women is highly prevalent, with an estimated one in three women globally experiencing some form of victimization in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood.
Violence against women also has a substantial impact on health and premature death among women of reproductive age than any other risk factor, including high blood pressure and obesity. Intimate partner violence is also an important cause of death, accounting for 40 to 60% of female homicides in many countries, and an important portion of maternal mortality in India, Bangladesh, and the United States. Policies to prevent violence include promoting social awareness to change norms that condone violence against women; equipping young people with skills for healthy relationships; expanding women’s access to economic and social resources and to support services; providing training for health services to better identify and support women experiencing violence and to integrate violence prevention into existing programs, including for HIV prevention; and promotion of adolescent health. States must take responsibility for the safety and well-being of their citizens and must tackle the problem with the urgency it requires.
Throughout a multiyear process of research and development, Mallika has produced a series of diverse works intended to catalyze a transformative dialogue about contemporary attitudes towards women across and beyond the art world. Mallika’s metaphoric gesture alludes to the women in general who are subjected to the atrocities in this turn of the century.