I was going through the kolkata rape case of a dedicated doctor .Instagram , Facebook and all other social media platforms including news sites are filled with this heartwrenching news of our Indian system failing yet again. I read through the news that she was gang raped and the motive was beyond “lust” or “rape” there were more reasons behind it, dark and perhaps much more gruesome than what we have witnessed. The one reason that I named this piece of article as “Sensitive Content Alert” is because in the last 24 hours Indians in porn sites have searched this particular doctor’s name who was raped, they wanted visuals something to jerk off ! Where are we heading to? What makes it ok for somebody to do such cruel acts on someone else ? Who gave the authority , to hurt, terrorize and kill? who gave the authority for anybody to use a name as they please without an ounce of humanity? How can anybody get horny on such gruesome extremely violent news, which led to the death of that poor girl who had dreams and aspirations , a whole future ahead of her? Is it because of illiteracy that prevails in certain parts of India I thought at first , when I heard again about a rape case of a nurse from Kolkata soon after the case of the doctor. Then a friend shared this very scary incident , about how a person he knows was been chased with an intention of rape at her own bus stop , from where every single day she goes and reached back to home. And the people who chased her were all regular people of the area , she was saved because she out ran them into a club . But the club members didn’t inform the police of the incident. However, they just saved her. And I was wondering, how will she again visit those roads when the culprits run free , with no doubt that they don’t regret any of what they have done. The whole faith in our Indian system , in our own pledge which says “ all indians are my brothers and sisters “ is failing. But the saddest part is it’s not regional, in Karnataka also another gruesome rape was reported. The reason why I am writing this article, is because I see alot of eyes all around me and it looks predatory to me. I have felt more alarmed now than ever. Recently , I read a Post in Instagram that says “ Every girl will have a story of some form of sexual abuse / of inappropriate behaviour story”, and I thought yes that’s true. From the driver of my dance school in Abu Dhabi who used to put me in the front seat of the car and every time he had to use the brake , gently grazes my thighs , back then I was just 11 or 12 years old. The same guy who tried to touch my shoulders when I was learning piano in my music class , as he was a substitute for my piano sir when he was not available, to the guy who held on to my palm as I was traveling at night in a KSRTC bus after an interview and I was with my friends during those times. This happened during my college days on my way back home after an interview , my friend was sitting next to me , it was getting dark but I had two other people with me. I was feeling like vomiting with all the travel and I held on to the next seat and I was putting my head down when someone knowingly touched my hands, I couldn’t move as I was so weak with sickness. Later after some point I got up, I thought it was a mistake as it was a crowded bus, but as his stop came, he was walking towards the door of the bus and then for a quick second he turned back and looked at me , chills ran through my spine which I cannot even explain. There used to be a guy near my maternal family home, he used to have a small grocery shop. His wife at that time was working abroad as a nurse , he being jobless and useless his father in law gave him money to start this grocery all he did was stare at young school or college going girls very inappropriately or just sleep. Everyday morning and evening he used to ogle me up as I passed through his shop, it was so uncomfortable that I had to slant my umbrella to his side to cover my face from him. The alarming Part was back then I was 17 or 18 , my heart keeps beating fast thinking about all the girls who cross that road near his shop. The stories seem to never stop , as long as lust never leaves the system of people. Love and attraction is all fine , but lust that’s a dangerous thing. We hear news like brother raping sister after watching porn or father raping his own daughter , which couldn’t be read completely without tearing up and feeling heavy at heart. There have been incidents in my life which have happened in the last year , where people have followed me on my way from office to home, alarming and someone whispering sexy and quickly walking off when I was near my office building. Now, I have my guard up more than ever, there are more stories but I don’t want to mention everything in this one article because you will not be able to read it all without feeling heavier at heart , and also I don’t want those lust-dripping animals to feast on my life’s snippets. But today the need has arised to renew the vows of our self-commitment to keep ourselves in a safe environment or to make sure at least we will be in safe environments. Because now, the pain has gone , it’s more the fear that’s residing within us consciously or unconsciously, mostly unconsciously. The fear of not wanting to be an unnamed prey who has been denied justice , a life ahead , dreams and ambitions. Just yesterday, I flinched when a guy was trying to ask me for an address at 7:45 PM when I was waiting for my ride to go home after work. I panicked, and I didn’t even open my mouth. I have this long wooden legged old fashioned umbrella that I take regularly , I hold it close to my chest when men walk near me. It gives me some sense of protection, like it’s some tool to protect myself . How would we truly be carefree again? How would we be comfortable to speak to a stranger to explain an address or to give a lift or to even share our water bottle without the fearful thought of “what would be his ulterior motive ? Would I be safe? Should I do it?” And I don’t think it’s just India, any country is not safe for women, we just don’t know how much safe it is perhaps yet, but all we know that women are really not safe. Some places are just better than the others.
Coming back to the kolkata doctor rape case, a lot of bizzare comments of different people I have seen online, which made me feel so sick . They too have females at home right ? A Telugu filmmaker wrote to social media which he later retracted saying ‘ Women should carry condoms in her bag and be safe. He stated that women should co-operate with rapists. He asked to legalise rape ‘ I mean ..what? What did he mean by that? Did he think that some director made it big into the film industry with movies that have abuse and degradation of the female counterpart, like Animal and Arjun reddy , he thought we the people of India , a democratic country will close our eyes to this as well? Did this small time Telugu filmmaker , think that this would be his ticket to success in the film industry ? Shame on you. Shame on all of you who laughs and feels that animal-lust when your fellow sister has fallen prey to gang rape , who lost her life and her rights ! When will we bring stronger , iron-clad rules against such inhuman useless rapists who don’t deserve to roam freely ? When will our concerned dedicated Indian system , take the right action to close all such cases with honesty? Then , if such a day we get to witness in our life we can say , that we have true freedom. Just because we are not in North Korea doesn’t mean our lives are any easier. All of us face multitudes of abuses , wrong , fear and pain within us. It’s the same and yet it’s different. The victims are just an image of a failed system , and abusers are a faceless mass of filth stalling the growth of the nation and the safety of its people.
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