"...Why does Samuel Butler say, "Wise men never say what they think of women"? Wise men never say anything else apparently."
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own
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The cases of rape, molestation and violence against women never make news. It is not considered a unique story to capture important print. Even if there is a compelling tale, it is tucked into the deeps of neglected pages where reader’s eyes seldom scan. Then, suddenly from nowhere, there is prime time news covering a story that begged to be heard for sixteen years, of a child molested by the then Inspector General of Police Rathore who drove her to ending her life. She consumed pesticides. She dies. Her dreams of becoming a Steffi Graf go to the grave with her.
He lives on. Promoted to Director General of Police of Haryana. Recipient of the Presidents medal for meritorious service to his land. The epitome of valour, character, defender of law. Then nearly two decades later, the law finally manages to catch up with him. Delicately offcourse. He is sentenced 6 months imprisonment with a surety of 1000 rupees. To top it all, he is granted bail.
We live in a fair world: Molestation and Rape and Theft and Murder are Bailable Offences.
Under the Indian Penal Code, molestation is a bailable offence under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Under new laws on terrorism, not giving information of a tenant to the local police is made non-bailable under section 188 IPC. Inflicting grievous injury with sharp weapon is bailable under section 324 and 325 of the IPC. The mere possession of a knife is non bailable under section 25 of the IPC Act.
Receiving a bail under the bailable offence, therefore is a right. No application is needed to file for bail. The court grants bail, thinking him fit to be free.
Freedom is the retired DGP Rathore’s greed. He saved himself so long he was in service, using his office to wield power over his victims. He was asked to pay a bond of 1000 rupees. The bond amount merely proves how trivial this case is. It must be noted that the bond amount is fixed depending on the circumstances of the case. This is an old tale of mere molestation. How does it matter if this is a tale of Ruchika. There are unnamed women who have gone her way, without making it to the headlines, long after.
A woman is molested every 26 minutes in this land. Every 34 minutes a woman is raped. Every 42 minutes a woman is sexually harassed. Every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped. Every 93 minutes a woman is killed. In Punjab alone a woman is raped every six hours. A woman is gang-raped every four days, and yet only 321 rape cases were reported to the police last year. It is all about statistics. It needs to be low. Complaints are not treated as First Information Report (FIR).
The statistics could be much higher. The occurrences of sexual atrocities are coffined in the four walls of the house for fear of victimization and cultural taboo.
Moral Curfew
We live in a RAPE culture. This has now become the norm of our land. There is a moral curfew imposed in our consciousness by the double standards we live in. The moral consciousness is a turncoat that is worn depending on which side of the fence we live. Our parents fail us. Our education system fails us. Our society fails us. These uproars need to be heard not every other decade. Ruchika was expelled from a prestigious convent school stating lack of character and poor morals. The molesters own daughter studied with her, and the school chose to favour the influential. When her brother (who was only 14 years of age) was charged for the sixth time for a spurious thefts, she blamed herself even more. That evening she put an end to her life.
The Language of Rape
Our language teaches us the culture of rape. We fuck the world. The world fucks us. It’s a poignant curse word. Used with passion. It is a favourite curse word of most. Used interchangeably with Screw. The word connotes every meaning of the English dictionary to the force with which it is uttered:
A simple machine of the inclined-plane type consisting of a spirally threaded cylindrical rod that engages with a similarly threaded hole.
A propeller with several angled blades that rotates to push against water or air.
The plethora of Indian “Rape” lingo are equally repelling: “behen chod”, “theri ma ki”, “randi”, “gaand ka ched”, and a countless more words that I shudder to spell here!
When such all-pervasive language pervades the grammar of our minds, how then can we have a world free of the act of rape?
He lives on. Promoted to Director General of Police of Haryana. Recipient of the Presidents medal for meritorious service to his land. The epitome of valour, character, defender of law. Then nearly two decades later, the law finally manages to catch up with him. Delicately offcourse. He is sentenced 6 months imprisonment with a surety of 1000 rupees. To top it all, he is granted bail.
We live in a fair world: Molestation and Rape and Theft and Murder are Bailable Offences.
Under the Indian Penal Code, molestation is a bailable offence under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Under new laws on terrorism, not giving information of a tenant to the local police is made non-bailable under section 188 IPC. Inflicting grievous injury with sharp weapon is bailable under section 324 and 325 of the IPC. The mere possession of a knife is non bailable under section 25 of the IPC Act.
Receiving a bail under the bailable offence, therefore is a right. No application is needed to file for bail. The court grants bail, thinking him fit to be free.
Freedom is the retired DGP Rathore’s greed. He saved himself so long he was in service, using his office to wield power over his victims. He was asked to pay a bond of 1000 rupees. The bond amount merely proves how trivial this case is. It must be noted that the bond amount is fixed depending on the circumstances of the case. This is an old tale of mere molestation. How does it matter if this is a tale of Ruchika. There are unnamed women who have gone her way, without making it to the headlines, long after.
A woman is molested every 26 minutes in this land. Every 34 minutes a woman is raped. Every 42 minutes a woman is sexually harassed. Every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped. Every 93 minutes a woman is killed. In Punjab alone a woman is raped every six hours. A woman is gang-raped every four days, and yet only 321 rape cases were reported to the police last year. It is all about statistics. It needs to be low. Complaints are not treated as First Information Report (FIR).
The statistics could be much higher. The occurrences of sexual atrocities are coffined in the four walls of the house for fear of victimization and cultural taboo.
Moral Curfew
We live in a RAPE culture. This has now become the norm of our land. There is a moral curfew imposed in our consciousness by the double standards we live in. The moral consciousness is a turncoat that is worn depending on which side of the fence we live. Our parents fail us. Our education system fails us. Our society fails us. These uproars need to be heard not every other decade. Ruchika was expelled from a prestigious convent school stating lack of character and poor morals. The molesters own daughter studied with her, and the school chose to favour the influential. When her brother (who was only 14 years of age) was charged for the sixth time for a spurious thefts, she blamed herself even more. That evening she put an end to her life.
The Language of Rape
Our language teaches us the culture of rape. We fuck the world. The world fucks us. It’s a poignant curse word. Used with passion. It is a favourite curse word of most. Used interchangeably with Screw. The word connotes every meaning of the English dictionary to the force with which it is uttered:
A simple machine of the inclined-plane type consisting of a spirally threaded cylindrical rod that engages with a similarly threaded hole.
A propeller with several angled blades that rotates to push against water or air.
The plethora of Indian “Rape” lingo are equally repelling: “behen chod”, “theri ma ki”, “randi”, “gaand ka ched”, and a countless more words that I shudder to spell here!
When such all-pervasive language pervades the grammar of our minds, how then can we have a world free of the act of rape?
The Rape of Innocence
Innocence is raped. Repeatedly. Over and over and over again. There is a moral degradation of our grand “Indian” values. The moral curfew has taken precedence due to the constant percolations of the patriarchal value system that constantly states that men are sexually aggressive and the female is passive and therefore she must be submissive.
Rape and molestation are traditional concepts of male aggression against woman’s sexuality. The definition of rape is when the woman is subjugated against her will. Men who molest children do it with a sedate glee, that their acts are an outcome of social convention, free will, and devoid from a threat of punishment. This drives them to perpetrate violence time over time.
Sexual attitudes and practices are often learnt and not instinctual (as most would believe). In this country, children are raised to believe that boys are stronger than girls, and therefore logically more sexually active and aggressive, while the woman must be passive and submissive. It is also assumed that men cannot control their desires and every woman is taught that she must be the responsible party in any sexual encounter. The rapist gives reasons to why he could not control himself. The woman is blamed for her character. For the clothes that she wears to arouses a man enough to leap on her. Or better still, that he was drunk and knew not what he was doing. Either which way, a woman is at the butt end of life.
Child Molesters Love Children
It is always a known member that turns predator. A friendly person, a kindhearted soul, an ever generous, giving individual – these are qualities that are needed to assure a child that there is no monster behind the benign smile. This smile has been with Rathore, since the time he called her to his office on the pretext of encouraging her to take up a tennis coach. She did not know that Rathore had intentions otherwise. He was after all the president of the Haryana Lawn Tennis and a man earnest to help her take her sport to the next level.
He did what every child molester does. Offer candy.
He did what every child molester does. Offer candy.
A Thought Every day
Not a day goes by without the thought of feeling that you are scanned by searching eyes, groping you, fantasising about you. The eyes follow you everywhere. You step in a crowded bus and you are rubbed, touched, felt and teased. You step in a rickshaw, and you may see exhibitionism at your face. There is no place that is free from these glares.
There is not another thought that does not surface- the fear of rape. Day after day. After day.
The curfew is imposed. The men are out and women are “curfew-ed".
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6 comments:
My heart is tormented and soul is stirred. Every time I read about a rape I can't help but feel party to it. No one can deny the moral responsibilities.
Violence is made possible by a combination of submissiveness and domination. It is the result of breaking a code of conduct built on a spiritually weak base,disastrous to both the parties.
Though anger towards such incidents may very well be justified , when looked at with deep insight it indicates such tendencies of submissiveness and lust and dominance latent within us.
And anger: a reaction of not knowing how to liberate ourselves from such traits.
Lavanya your writing is lucid, has amazing clarity of thought and conviction. There is deliberation and study. and I am looking forward to read more.
I am happy to see you emerge as a conscientious writer
with best wishes,
light,love and peace.
The way things have been depicted is wonderful & that too with stats. I personally feel that people look at a girl as an object to be utilized n dumped. A girl is far more than that. They forget that she takes different roles based on the situations as ur daughter, sister, friend, lover, wife, mother & the list goes on. Its high time people start treating women more than that of a sex object.
I agree there is always personal freedom to speak, act etc as they want & wear what u want to. The way of dressing also has changed with time. We also need to have in mind that the way we dress up in India also attracts such crimes.
And on the word "Rape", this can be suffixed with almost anything in life now. e.g This person has "raped" my happiness etc
Keep writing.
Cheers,
Avinash
Ever wonder why your article does not give hope to a better future? That is because sadly this world we live in cannot ever reach an Utopia we so desire... All through out ages mankind have looked and supposed the generation was a step closer to it, but it just remains an allusion! Sadly there always will be the Rathore's, because we live in a fallen world where both sexes are self-centered, greedy and lust driven. Am I hopeless? Probably yes, of justice every being met to Rathores, hopeless that we will ever rid this place of Rathores. Rathore may fool the judicial system of India, but he will never escape the perfect justice that he and his ilks will meet at the hands of His Maker when its curtains for Him. And in Him lies my hope!
I find the way you write really interesting, Lavanya! :)
The whole problem is about 'not talking' and 'not voicing'.. Nobody hears because, nobody speaks...
If we speak, its not loud enough..
ANd when its loud.. our understanding of 'loud' is breaking of things and creating noises of violence.. The girl dying, is in a way speaking with violence..
How do we help a girl and a woman understand that there's nothing to be'ashamed' of when she has been the vitcim? Where does the rape culture begin? It is the way indian families treat their children.. it is full of dichotomy & hypocrisy.. children are taught to be 'ashamed' of their bodies at an early age.. I agree with most of what's said.. but where do we begin with the solution? And how do we go about it?
We need to face & answer some deep-rooted questions on our own culture...
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