For the past week, Pinki Pramanik — award-winning athlete, citizen and, most important, human being — has been reduced to an exhibit in a media-driven circus. Her treatment disgraces us all. Ms Pramanik, an Asian and Commonwealth Games medal-winning athlete, was earlier this month charged with rape by her partner, who claims Ms Pramanik has male sexual organs, and also that she reneged on a promise to marry. Like all women who file a complaint of rape, Ms Pramanik’s partner deserves a serious and sensitive police investigation of her allegations. It takes no great imagination, though, to see that what is happening is a particularly distasteful farce. Ms Pramanik has been subjected to multiple medical examinations, often with a voyeuristic media present to record her journey to and from prison; a surreptitiously made video recording of one of those tests was even put online, and promptly went viral. Thus, Ms Pramanik has been put on public trial not for her alleged crime, but her intersex condition. Prurience runs through this story: no one, after all, posts MMS clips of the medical examinations of the tens of thousands of men arrested each year on rape charges; nor is their anatomy a subject of discussion.
Ms Pramanik’s treatment tells us something profoundly disturbing about the society we inhabit. Ensuring dignity for the sexuality of citizens is one of the keystones of a democratic polity. Human sexuality is a powerful yet private sphere for citizens to exercise freedoms, which is why political and religious despots have often sought to regulate and punish perceived deviance. The assault on Ms Pramanik’s dignity comes at a time when political reactionaries and religious bigots are increasingly colluding to police our private lives. The hounding of Ms Pramanik also reinforces the stigmatisation of the millions of intersex people in this country. Late in the last century, research established that diverse forms of sexual physicality are not diseases to be treated. Nature is less doctrinaire in its approach to gender than our minds — a fact Hindu tradition, among others, has long acknowledged. Even though modern surgery has made it possible to stamp out what society considers to be aberrations, there is an ongoing debate on precisely when such intervention is appropriate. Ms Pramanik might or might not be guilty of the crime she is accused of, but her dignity must be restored — starting now. The individuals who made the video, the medical personnel who allowed it to be taken, and the police officers on whose watch this crime occurred, must be punished. For full justice to be done, though, we must search inwards, within our culture that engendered an audience for this sordid spectacle.
Keywords: Gender test, Pinki Pramanik
This underlines the fact that citizens are still not safe in hands of state. Those values of democracy, freedom liberty and civil sense are far to achieve.
This is one of the best editorials I have read in the Hindu. I hope sincerely that it isn't proven to be too far ahead of its time in India.
Another nice balanced editorial by Hindu. Pinky's dignity should be restored.
Media should consider its responsibility towards individuals
A very meaningful and eloquent article. It reflects a mature level of responsibility and sensitivity that is missing in today's print-media.
Our media seems to have no limits when it comes to sensationalism ! The 26/11 terror
attack was compounded by the media's senseless coverage. The people responsible for
Pinki's plight should be punished and the person who accused her should be punished if she
can not prove her case. I am glad that The Hindu has highlighted this stupidity of the media.
The article aptly mentions "the plight" of an alleged athlete.On one hand, Pinky is facing a serious charge of molesting her own partner and on the other hand,she herself, is being molested by the repeated medical trails and now, the mms clip. The kind of treatment, which has been given to Pinky is questionable!(irrespective of the fact that she is the accused), and the offender/s must be taken to task.
Very eloquent editorial. Hope other media personalities read and learn from this.
Two things have to be made clear here :
1. Why did the victim has lodge complaint aganist pinky if pinky have not offended her?
2. What is the veracity of her allegation?
Those who are involved in taking the video and releaseing it to the pulic should be given exemplary punishment.
With the exception of one or two newspapers, the rest has maintained a complete silence over the violation of the accused athlete's right to privacy and her right to be treated with dignity. Everyone is making his own interpretation without any regard for the court that is yet to make any pronouncement on the controversial issue. The leaking of her medical test video is a serious crime that indicates involvement of officials responsible to conduct and escort her to the test. Those people must also be called to account. What surprises me the most is the apathy of human rights organizations to give the issue the kind of attention it deserves. They must rally around the athlete in solidarity with her not for the crime she allegedly committed but for the humiliation she has been subjected to and the inhumane treatment meted out to her.
It is really horrible and must be condemned. All the persons involved in
this ill-attempt must be punished.
Completely agree with the article.Pinki's Dignity should be prtected.Media should not creat hype about these type of news because the are no way add any benefit to the life.It cuts no ice Even though many people are shouting at media's over enthusiasm about sensitive things.They should work for the broad development of scoiety insted of their TRP ratings(HIndhu is excepted from this)
I must thank and congratulate "The Hindu" for bringing up the case for
restoring the dignity of Ms Pinki Pramanik. I feel sorry for both the
victims here and this case shows the sorry state of our society and
media. Is our media representing our society or corrupting it ?
First of all kudos to team Hindu for taking up Pinkie issue for editorial page.It is ridiculous and a threat to human privacy and gender freedom when media celebrated the gender issue.To tarnish a human in the name of his/her gender is pathetic and sorry sight.The allegations against the athlete should be sort out immediately and Pinkie must be given at least basic human rights and freedom in a society which claims itself democratic and diverse.No one should face the fate of Pinkie in the name of gender in the future.
The media leak is far more serious offence than the yet to be proven
crime Ms Pinki has done. It makes a mockery of the entire judicial
process. Exemplary punishment needs to be given to all those who were
involved in the disgraceful conduct.
It is also shameful how bail has been denied and Ms Pramaik has been
subjected to repeated humiliation.
If doctors and hospitals are incompetent to do a gender test, they
should have refused to start the test. These institution also needs to
be taken to task for wasting public money and practicing Quackery.
There license needs to be cancelled.
The question one needs to ask oneself is, if it were our own family member, is such a coverage acceptable. If it is not, the same yardstick shall be applied to others as well, whose dignity is as important. I don't know why we are blind to this logic! Like the lead sentence of the editorial says, she is an award winning athlete, a citizen and more importantly a human being. What a simple, yet a profound way of hitting the nail on its head!
Pinki Pramanik, the famous Indian athlete has been humiliated by the
state and media. While an awareness is being created about LGBT issues
and the like in contemporary India, the cruel hands of the sadist
media gloat over the exposure of privacy of a human being!...Irish
Writer Oscar Wilde at the fag-end of the Ninetieth Century and
Austrian painter Egon Schiele in the early Twentieth Century were
humiliated and imprisoned. The role of the state and media added more
fuel to the fire. English writer Virginia Woolf died of depression in
1941,created by her critics! We, the readers and the rasikas in the
Twenty-first Century, regret the injustice done to them. "The Hindu"
is an exception in the print-media which respects ethics in
journalism; that is why its editorial appeals to every reader!
Pinki Pramanik may be or may not be guilty but media (Except only 'The
Hindu') is for sure has been guilty by cashing on every opportunity, no
matter whether it is degrading the minds,to gain ratings.
Completely agree with the article. What is happening (media trial) is quite disgusting both to the individual and society at large.
Hats off! Brilliant editorial with unbiased approach. Pinki's dignity should be restored and culprits should be punished.
I fail to understand why, of all the important things happening around the world, a section of Indian media is bent on ,showing the world, the sex of Indian athlete,worse,even posting links to the video which went viral.
Eloquent and true.
The word "intersex" should not used for what you possibly want to mean. It necessarily means the 'chromosomal sex' has a specific configuration. In countries like Sweden, they are already doing away with unscientific concepts like 'gender'... which is just about assumed roles in society. This case also shows that the medical personnel are also backward by a few decades.
This article and it's guidance is relevant in all aspects of Indian society where a hungry
media and an audience of hundreds of millions voracious for blood of innocents are
encroaching, infringing, and destroying the rights and dignity of people just for pure selfish
pleasure and gratification.
Not just sexuality, but other aspects of humanity that pertains to an individual's dignity and
privacy are being paraded with scant regards for justice, fairness, understanding, freedom,
rights, or basic humanity, in order to gain media ratings by an uncaring, disrespectful, and
easily forgetting masses of people.
Either the media must follow restraint, or there must be selective censorship in matters
private and of no social/national significance or value — like in this case.
When will other media learn Enlightened and Educational reporting of facts, from the
examples of the few like Hindu — and empower the powerless by being their voice?
Ms.Pinki reneged on her promise or raped her partner is a dubious charge
which is to be envisaged profoundly but voyeuristic approach by media is
unacceptable since in most cases it is the source of nation's thinking.
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