What the Body Remembers: Anti-Memorial for the gender-based violence during Partition of India in 1947
Gender Violence during Partition of India 1947 What the Body Remembers: Anti-Memorial for the gender-based violence During the Partition of India in 1947, women were subjected to various forms of violence, and there was a symbolic meaning behind this act. Women have been sexually violated to tarnish their community's pride and humiliate men of the opposing ethnic group. Women were sexually abused and had their breasts amputated; moreover, tattoos were also made on women's bodies as a sign of "impurity." The most common forms of gender violence against women are rape, kidnapping, humiliation, and honor killing. Women were also killed in the name of honor and to save the dignity of their families and social pride. Male family members urged women to commit suicide. Statistics show that over 300,000 women were abducted during the Partition of India, but numbers cannot fully convey the emotional trauma that women suffered during the Partition. Partition is the tragedy of...