Is All Violence Generated By Males?

Maneka Gandhi, Union minister for women and child development, stated recently that “All violence is male-generated“. This might, at first instance, seem like a sweeping statement, but perhaps there is more than a grain of truth in what she said. When Susan Sarandon, the acclaimed Hollywood actor was in India as chief guest at the International Film Festival in Goa in 2013, she echoed a similar sentiment.

Speaking of the increasing reports of violence against women ­ not just in India but across the world ­ Sarandon said that one sure way of sensitising men to respect women was for every mother to raise her sons in a way that gender equity and compassion as core values are inculcated in them in their growing years. The above is just one aspect of male-generated violence and Sarandon's solution too is one among many ways of transforming the male propensity for violence to positive ways of bringing about peaceful change.

Children are indeed at their most formative stage of life ­ which is why the minister stressed the importance of gender sensitisation at the school stage, saying, “We have started something which will go into effect in a few months called `gender champions': boys who have been particularly respectful and helpful to girls and deserve to be emulated and rewarded. These prizes will be given to a person in each class annually.“

Violence is of course far more widespread and variegated than that related to assaults on women. Apart from the influence of nurture and environment, the male of the species does indeed seem to have a biological propensity for aggression. Why is this so? Perhaps it all boils down to the fact that the male of the species has an overload of testosterone, the sex hormone that some scientists call the `perfect weapon of mass destruction'. Others call it a `warmone' that triggers aggression, competitiveness and violence.

The play of testosterone is evident in the army, for instance, where `jawans' or young, testosterone-rich youth is recruited to protect the country at the border.Aggression is the traditional way of dealing with the enemy at the gates. The hero soldier who dies protecting his country is hono ured and appreciated for his valour. But he cannot be bro ught back to life. While this is not to undermine the supreme sacrifice of young soldiers, it does raise the question, is there no other way to protect and guard against external aggression other than young men giving up their precious lives in ess on both sides of the border? the process on both sides of the border?
The answer could be `smart wars' fought with robots and spy planes, but what we really need to work towards is to es tablish peace rather than wage wars.

That could be a utopian dream but one worth striving for, and as a wizened woman CEO suggested to the ministry of defence, “Why don't you rename your ministry as `ministry of peace?'“ and shot off a letter to that effect to the defence minister. It does seem as though conflict resolution and peace come naturally to women whereas men are always raring to fight. Again, let's blame it on testosterone, the male sex hormone.`Chemical locha', as Munnabhai would put it. It's not as though the female of the species is devoid of testosterone; it's just that the levels are far lower than those in males. Moreover, every female as a potential mother is programmed to nurture, love and care rather than fight, kill and destroy. And yes, there are exceptions to every generalisation.