We asked 20 Women what comes to their mind after reading about rapes & they said –“There is a feeling of hopelessness.”
Waking up to news about brutal rapes in India doesn’t really affect us anymore. We read about it, discuss it with our friends, post it on social media, or protest. That’s all that we can do, right? But wait, are these things helping our women? No, right? Actually, we are tired of raising our voice and asking for justice. Rapes after rapes and there is no end to it. The truth is- slowly we have become a rape tolerant nation. We are now immune to these headlines. Not a single headline moves us from within because we know – “Kya Kar Sakte Hai”. All that we do is, teach our daughters to wear the right clothes, don’t go out at night, do not mess with eve-teasers ‘Kyunki Zamana Kharab hai’. Just to give an insight into the worse condition in India, here are some figures. Take a look:
(Stop it)
According to a report, India recorded an average of 87 rapes every day in 2019. More than 40,000 rapes are reported every year in India. With every case, we demand stricter laws but that doesn’t happen. Rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India. Just in case, if you don’t know, a lot of rape cases go unreported. Remember the report of the Global Peace Index 2017? It claimed India to be the fourth most dangerous country for women travellers. From humiliating victims when they file a complaint to not delivering justice on time, has made this country hell to live, especially for women. After Nirbhaya, we thought things would change. Honestly, they became even worse. There is a feeling of numbness and hopelessness. We decided to talk to some women and understand what comes to their mind after reading about these brutal rapes. Here is what they said:
“With every rape case, the only thing I feel is anger and helplessness. There have been protests, mass agitations, social media activism but all of it seems to be very hollow and meaningless every time I see one more case being added to the tally. It only makes me feel more vulnerable and being a media person, every time I have to writing or about rape or any gender-based violence, all that lingers around is a question, how much sense will this report make, how much justice can this write-up do to the survivor, to the victim who became a prey to the barbarity of men? And the sad part is, our cry for justice seems hollow as there are so many to ask justice for and we can not even blame male members because no men take the responsibility of their community, they just find a choose to saying they are not toxic”, says Ishika Agarwal, 23.
“A certain amount of numbness, very disturbing as such horrifying crimes that take place in India. It’s not a crime category, but a sin. The lust among the people is increasing every day, and we still don’t have an open discussion. I’ve never met a single female who has never experienced sexual harassment, potential rapists in every street. I can see families of culprits making an attempt to save them which is even more terrifying to read”, says Priyanshi Jain, 24.
(Representational Image)
“Immediate response is to feel rage because of the injustice committed. The frustration that society continues to remain unsafe for 50% of the population and the justice system ambles along like it’s nothing serious. Anger at the fact that the coverage is usually sensational, insensitive and vendetta seeking. Little or no effort is made to interrogate cultural/social factors like patriarchy and caste which are the primary contributory factors”, says Satyajeet Nambiar, 44.
“Hearing about these inhuman deeds are disturbing, but the victim-blaming and even the silences around it are even more horrifying. People ask death for rapists and yet have the audacity to side the accused if it doesn’t fit their narrative or ideas”, says Kewallya Jain, 25.
(Let us not get immune to it)
“Everytime I hear about a rape I personally feel like I have failed. The ultimate fault is of the perpetrator of the crime, but the whole society should feel the guilt. It is the mindset which leads toward the (crime) rape, and the mindset is shaped by society, the ideas and values of society or whether I believed in this ideas or not, I’m the part of this society. And I feel like I’ve failed to change this kind of mindset in my society”, says Ibtesham, 22.
“I think the very fact that rape cases have become so commonplace in India that it doesn’t even seem news anymore, is a testimony of how we as a society have so completely failed. There is now, in addition to dealing with the problem of increasing rapes, an increasing need to re-examine our role as a silent bystander to these heinous crimes and atrocities as they happen around us”, says Apoorva Wadhwa, 26.
“Women are seen as objects. Kitna bhi campaign kar lo, law bana lo, jabtak ye mentality rahegi tab tak kuch nahi hoga”, says Swati Jain, 25.
“This news has been so disturbing, what shall I even say that has not been said before.It’s not just rape anymore, it’s cold blooded murder every time a woman is raped. And it’s still happening, we as a society can not be called civilized if this is how a woman, a girl is treated”, says Sudeepta Das.
All women almost said the same thing. New age mothers are even more worried. They fear sending their girls to school. From an infant to 92 –year- old woman, women from all walks of life are facing sexual assault and are unsafe in India. And this is seriously alarming. We repeatedly talk about its causes, but we never come to a solution. The problem lies in the mindset and what is even more disturbing – Rape Par Bhi Rajneeti hoti hai. Don’t you think everyone should come together to stop this? Be it man, woman, political parties, leaders, social activists, everyone to find a concrete solution. Because death penalties aren’t working. There is no fear. If we can’t stop it, then we should stop celebrating festivals like Durga Puja. Let us not live as hypocrites. Let us admit that we have miserably failed as a society.
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