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Unwanted as a baby, insulted as a girl, raped as a
woman and silenced as a lady. When did our definition of a woman undergo such a
sea of changes ? Expected to give up her
career to raise a family and complete all her chores on time, never asked for
an opinion, not allowed to enter the temple in her periods as if it is
something she does against God's wishes, dutifully provide the family with
healthy sons that grow up to be as insensitive as the others, beaten, burnt and
raped. When did we lose our humanity and fell so low that we stopped respecting
and started raping the womb that gave us birth ? Many of you might be offended
by the title of this post, but I stand by it with all my courage. I would be
least surprised if a pregnant woman decides not to have a girl child for the
fear of what happened to a 23-year old student in Delhi. Being her age, I can't
imagine the trauma that she must be going
through.
The media is hungry for that one sensational byte,
one statement from the family, one more picture! They manage to ignite a
protest, start support groups online, abuse the accused on social networks. But
what good does it bring to the victim ? She has become the talk of the nation,
but how is it helping her ? Not long ago, a girl from North East India was publicly
molested and beaten. The case became viral on Youtube overnight. Banners were
hanged, posters were painted. What good came out of it, still manages to stay a
mystery.
"Protest in front of India Gate, 22nd Dec,
show your support". I received this text , asking me to show my support
for the gang rape victim. Many of my friends swore that they wouldn't miss it
for the world. Although it did make me think, were they excited because they
thought it was cool that they were protesting for a cause for the first time ?
or were they angry because an innocent 23-year old was gang raped and thrown out
of a moving bus ? 'All the female politicians must be raped', this filth also
made it to every youngster's phone, as if the recent happenings weren't
disgusting enough. I was informed that
the Punjabi rockstar Honey Singh has composed a song on the victim, depicting
his rage and suppressed anger. All I felt upon hearing it, was humiliation and
shame. An obnoxious Bollywood star saw this as an opportunity of promoting his
latest movie. The opposition sees it as a means of initiating a political riot.
What fears me the most is that have we started
taking pleasure in the victim's misery or do we enjoy the blame-game ? Some
blame the accused, others blame the city altogether.
The body, the scars, they all might heal, but will the soul ever heal ?
The current maximum penalty in rape cases in India
is life imprisonment. Officials say that death sentence has been put on the
table and it might be served in extreme rape cases. What I want to know is
that, what will be the criteria of deciding which case is an extreme and which
isn't.
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