It has been
two years since that gruesome incident. Dec 16, 2012. This date will forever remain etched in our
memories because on this day, a young girl was brutally assaulted and thrown
out of the bus to die – an incident that made us wake up to the fact as to how
some human beings can don the soul of demons. The girl, whom the media called
as ‘braveheart’ died soon after, leaving her family and the whole nation
shocked and helpless. Huge furore ensued, politicians made high promises,
candle marches and protests followed everywhere. Now what after two years? Of
the five accused, one relaxes in a juvenile home because he had not attained
age 18 at the time of the crime. He could rape a woman, brutalise her and help
his friends do the same, he could be a heartless criminal that day but his
blatant cruelty was forgiven because he was few days short of turning 18.
Another
accused hanged himself in jail. The remaining four are still in jail, perhaps
enjoying their days. Will they ever be punished for this inhumane, cruel and
barbaric act? God alone knows.
This is the
state of affairs of our country when it comes to punishing criminals. Since December
16, 2012, there have been numerous reports of rapes and atrocities against
women. Some saw these reports as a positive sign that now more women were
reporting the matter to police. Really? Then what? What is the conviction rate
in such cases? Abysmally low.
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Rapes do not
occur just for lust. A rape is a show of power and fearlessness. The power to
show that as a man, he is capable of forcing himself on any woman and fearlessness
that emerges from the fact that nothing happens to rapists. It is the victim
who is always marignalised, blamed and punished by the society for no fault of
hers. Our system does nothing to help but by making her wait for years for
justice and making her repeat the ordeal that she wishes to forget, every day
before an audience, only add to her trauma.
There isn’t
any one solution to the whole issue. India has always been a patriarchal society
and even today, when examples of women achievers are taken with pride, women
continue to suffer because they are ‘women’. Hope the law becomes such a deterrent that any
man would dread to touch a woman without her permission. Laws and our system
need to change so that it becomes victim friendly and not accused favouring.
There should be a deadline for convicting rape cases. It should not stretch for
years. A rape is equivalent to a murder because most of the victims never get a
chance to lead a normal life again. She is mocked, criticised and looked with doubtful
eyes for the rest of her life. Hence such criminals should be considered as
murders and punishment should be harsh and quick.
The second
step lies with each household and each parent. It is necessary to start a campaign
by each Indian to protest against rapes and this campaign should start from the
cradle till grave. I mean, that at each
step, there needs to be awareness. Children right from the cradle need to be
taught that boys and girls are equal. Toys need not be gender specific. Let
boys play with dolls if they wish to and allow the girls to play with cars if
such toys make them happy. Don’t tell ‘Boys don’t cry’ or do not ask him ‘why
are you behaving like a girl’. Please do not tell girls that they need to cook
because they have to get married one day. Stereotype thinking leads to a
stubborn mindset. It is these boys who grow up and believe that just because
they were born boys, they have the right to humiliate any one and especially women.
Let every
girl in each village and city educate herself and be raised as empowered individuals
and not just as empowered women. Let us also forget some age-old thinking that
only sons can do final rites of their father. Stop accepting and giving dowry. Do away with gender stereotyping. Only when a boy sees that there is no
difference between him and his sister and the girls in his school that he will grow
up and realise that women are no different and that they are a human being as
he is.
This might
be a long process ahead but can we at least start now?
Rapes and treating
women as second class citizens will continue as long as there is no fear of law
and there is this vast difference between how a male and a female child are
raised. The government and our justice system will have to wake up and realize
that they cannot afford to sleep over the matter because with the kind of
atrocities against women are going on, if democracy and justice remain mute
spectators, the day will not far when their will be complete anarchy with
criminals ruling the roost and the country going to dogs. Politicians, please worry, for you all will be
the ones who will suffer the most because most of us, citizens, are anyway
living in such a situation.
