The Indian government obtained a court order Wednesday against a documentary in which one of the men convicted in a shocking 2012 gang-rape blamed his victim, which has provoked fresh outrage across the country.
Rajnath Singh, India's minister for home affairs, said the documentary produced by a BBC television crew would not air this weekend on Indian television as scheduled, and he summoned the head of the jail where the interview was conducted for an investigation.
The comments "are highly derogatory and are an affront to the dignity of women," Singh told a raucous session of India's upper house of parliament. The film would not be screened until it was approved by authorities, who must review the entire unedited footage of the interview with the convicted rapist, he said.
Singh said the producers of the 62-minute documentary, "India's Daughter," had violated the conditions under which they were allowed to film inside Tihar jail in Delhi, where the rapist was interviewed, although he did not elaborate.
The government "will not allow any attempts by any individual, group or organization to leverage such unfortunate incidents for commercial benefit," Singh said. "The respect and dignity of women constitute a core value of our culture and traditions."
The government's response was roundly criticized by Indian activists and some lawmakers, who said authorities seemed more troubled by the production of the documentary than by the incident that led to it.
The brutal Dec. 16, 2012, gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman on a passenger bus in the capital, New Delhi, drew worldwide attention to the problem of sexual violence in India. Despite a raft of new legislation and promises to crack down on perpetrators, women say that cases of rape and sexual harassment remain endemic.
The comments by the convicted rapist, Mukesh Singh, marked the first time that any of the four men sentenced to the death penalty in the incident had spoken publicly. In excerpts from the film released to the media, Singh is quoted as saying the murdered woman, who was riding the bus with a male friend after seeing a movie, should not have been out late at night and should not have resisted her attackers.
"A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy," he said.
The filmmaker, Leslee Udwin, has said she obtained the necessary approvals to interview Singh from India's home affairs ministry in 2013.
"The reality is what the man spoke reflects the views of many men in India, and why are we shying away from that?" said Anu Aga, an Indian businesswoman and lawmaker in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house.
"Suggesting the death penalty, banning this movie – that is not the answer. We have to confront the issue that men in India do not respect women. And any time there is a rape, blame is placed on the woman. It is not just the man in the prison's views. It is the views of many men in India. Let's be aware of it, and let's not pretend that all is well."
"India's Daughter" was scheduled to air in India on Sunday to mark International Women's Day.
shashank.bengali@latimes.com
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