印度旅游部長馬赫什•沙瑪(圖片來源:路透社)
India's tourism minister is furiously backpedaling after suggesting that women who visit India shouldn't wear skirts for their own safety.
印度旅游部長日前建議前往印度的女性為了自身安全不要穿裙子,但是他隨后連忙澄清。
Mahesh Sharma made the comments over the weekend while promoting a welcome kit that will be handed out to tourists when they arrive in India.
上周末,馬赫什•沙瑪在宣傳入境游客將會(huì)拿到的歡迎禮包時(shí)做出“不要穿裙子”的評論。
"There's a card in there listing the do's and don'ts. Basic things like, 'Don't go out at night alone.' 'Don't wear skirts.'"
“歡迎禮包里有一張卡片,上面列了注意事項(xiàng)。基本的提醒有:‘晚上不要單獨(dú)外出’、‘不要穿裙子’。”
The outrage was immediate. And for good reason.
這立刻引起了印度人民的憤怒,而且合情合理。
A string of sexual assaults against foreign women has sullied India's reputation.
印度的聲譽(yù)因?yàn)橐幌盗型鈬员恍郧值陌讣軗p。
The country has amended its laws to broaden the definition of rape to include any form of penetration; it lists out strict punishments not only for rape but also for sexual assault, voyeurism and stalking.
印度修訂了法律,擴(kuò)大了強(qiáng)奸的定義,把任何形式的性交都列為強(qiáng)奸。修正后的法律也列出了對于強(qiáng)奸、性侵、窺陰癖和跟蹤罪的嚴(yán)懲方式。
But still, every high-profile case -- and there have been several -- brings the question to the forefront again: Is India doing enough to protect women? Is it creating a strong enough deterrent for crimes against women?
但是多起引人矚目的案件仍然帶來質(zhì)疑:保護(hù)女性,印度做到位了么?有沒有強(qiáng)有力的措施遏制所有針對女性的犯罪?
Backlash
民眾反應(yīng)強(qiáng)烈
For one thing, India is ill-equipped to process not just sexual assaults and rape, but all kinds of crime. It has a shortage of forensic laboratories; one of the worst police-to-citizens ratios in the world, and far fewer lawyers and judges than it needs to process cases.
首先,印度不僅僅在處理性侵和強(qiáng)奸案件上能力欠缺,在各類案件處理上都能力不足。該國缺少法醫(yī)檢驗(yàn)室;警察和公民人數(shù)比是世界上最低的幾個(gè)國家之一;處理案件所需的律師和法官人數(shù)也遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠。
Critics lambasted the minister, saying his comments put the onus on women, rather than on a government that ought to do a better job of improving security.
批評人士痛斥旅游部長,認(rèn)為他將安全責(zé)任推到了女性身上,而不是政府。政府應(yīng)該為提高安全性做出更多的努力。
"Sir please give us bad women a lecture on Indian Culture. We are getting outta control N need to be harnessed!" said Sapna Moto Bhavnani, in one of many similar tweets taking the minister to task.
推特上有許多人批評這位部長。薩普納•莫托•巴夫南尼寫道:“先生,請給我們這些‘壞女人’上一節(jié)印度文化課。我們已經(jīng)失去控制了,現(xiàn)在需要你來治理一下。”
Backpedal
澄清
On Monday, Sharma tried to clarify what he meant.
周一,沙瑪試圖澄清他的意思。
"I am a father of two daughters...I would never tell women what they should wear or not," he told reporters.
他對記者說:“我是兩個(gè)女孩的父親。我永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)告訴女性她們應(yīng)該或不應(yīng)該穿什么。”
"Such a ban is unimaginable, but it is not a crime to be cautious. Different countries issue advisories from time to time, but I never said change anyone's way of dressing."
“這樣的禁令是難以想象的,但謹(jǐn)慎一點(diǎn)總沒有錯(cuò)。各國時(shí)不時(shí)都會(huì)發(fā)布安全建議,但我從未說過要改變?nèi)魏稳舜┮碌姆绞健?rdquo;
This isn't the first time, however, that Sharma has stoked controversy with his comments on how to ensure the safety of women.
不過,這已經(jīng)不是沙瑪?shù)谝淮我驗(yàn)榫腿绾未_保女性安全發(fā)表意見而引發(fā)爭論了。
Last year he said Indian women shouldn't go out at night.
去年他說印度女人晚上不應(yīng)該出門。
"Girls wanting a night out may be all right elsewhere but it is not part of Indian culture," he said.
他說:“其他國家女孩晚上想要出去是可以的,但是在印度,這是不行的。”
By the way, the pamphlet that Sharma referred to makes no mention of skirts.
順便說一句,沙瑪提到的安全手冊上并沒有提到裙子。