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One more Nirbhaya Day comes along on 16th December, 6 years since Jyoti Singh a.k.a Nirbhaya was brutally gangraped. Has anything changed for the women of India?
Amidst all the crimes and atrocities humanity had witnessed, one could not disagree on including the night of December 16, 2012, in the prime list of this sinful history. A young, aspiring physiotherapist traveling with her friend was brutally assaulted in a moving bus, in the capital city of our country, by a group of men who not only gang-raped her, but inserted a rusted iron rod inside her private parts to the extent that her intestines were pulled out.
“A knife cut is enough for a tear to escape, they pulled her intestines out with an iron rod.”
The incident rocked the entire nation. The media dedicated significant airtime, a number of candle walks by the citizens and in a rare instance, law machinery functioned.
The term ‘Nirbhaya’ meaning fearless was coined for the name of the victim. One of the accused hanged himself in prison, another juvenile was given imprisonment in a reform facility, and the remaining four culprits were sentenced by hanging to death. As per the general understanding, it could be concluded that Nirbhaya was served justice. Her soul could rest in peace. Following the judgment, it wasn’t wrong to expect that a certain level of fear might have been induced in the minds of offenders.
“Was the justice served? Did the havoc of lust subside? Did the soul of Nirbhaya rest in peace?”
On the contrary, the instances of rapes, acid attacks, and assaults exploded in various cities. The gang rape of a mother and daughter on the National Highway, the Uber rape case, Kathua rape case, assaults on newborns; the count of atrocities got lost in the flood of such cases.
The safety of women became a tool for politicians and was played well to put the blame on each other, with attitudes of ‘she deserved it’..
“We kept on blaming, judiciary, police, doctors and even religion. And yet the souls of Nirbhayas’ wept along, when every time a new sister joined them.”
Where have we gone wrong? Why did a landmark judgment and overall awareness fail to stop the horrors spread by the predators? Rape is a global epidemic but of all the nations, supposedly, we were ‘expected’ to guide rest of the world with the light of wisdom. A country of Goddess Lakshmi, Parvati, Saraswati, a land which is itself called Bharat ‘Mata’, a birthplace of four major religions, with sacred rivers flowing through our land identified with feminine identity, where the lap of ‘Maa’ is considered as equivalent to God; yet we have utterly failed to respect and protect her form.
“She has to give her body again for the preparation of samples even in the condition where she can die. We call that the law?” – ENDURER A Rape Story
It is a shame, despicable. If we want a future, we need to clean it up. It takes years to rebuild a system but we can always start at an individual level. No matter how many fast-track courts are set up or laws are enforced, unless we learn to unconditionally support the victims and expel the perpetrators from the society, nothing is going to improve. The age-old taboos which have plagued our society irrespective of class and demography should be given away. The only philosophy which should prevail is that no one has the reason to disrespect the physical limits of a being without their consent.
“If the size of the skirt is your reason for Rape, try leaving your beloved in full clothes with a Rapist.”
On this Nirbhaya Day, I take a pledge to be part of the revolution. I would always support and be there for the survivors of sexual assault. Would you join hands with me?
A version of this was first published here.
Image source: Flickr
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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