“If
I don’t get justice, there is no point in living…”
These
are the words of a gang rape victim Roopa (the pseudonym) from Haryana.
Soon
we will be celebrating International Women’s Day. All over the world there will
be some or the other activity or events taking place for the women. People
around the world will be praising and giving long speeches on women power,
development, women rights, importance of women etc. But do they really mean
when they say or comment anything on women? I don’t think that people really
care when they comment anything about women. These are the same people who do
not even step forward to help the women when they are in danger or faced with
any crisis. The whole nation waits for things to happen and then to react, but
are never thinking of changing things around so that such incidents never take
place.
I
mentioned a comment in the start which was said by Roopa, a victim who was gang
raped by five men on 28th November 2012. She is a dalit woman from
Haryana who is married and has two kids. One night when they were asleep and
her husband was at work, these five men came and broke the door. They pulled
Roopa out of the house and took her to a cowshed out of the house. They tied
her mouth and “then the five of them raped her repeatedly”. She couldn’t shout
and saw that two of them even had pistols. When they heard the children crying,
these men ran for it. When the family came to know they wholly supported her
and went to the police for help. The local police accused her of "making
the story up" and delayed in filing the case and it was not until police
superintendent Sharma intervened and registered her case.
The
whole community has ostracized her and her family. Nobody talks to them and her
friends also hated her. Her husband is sitting at home after this incident as
he is removed out of the job and nobody is ready to give him work as a result
their they have lost their source of income.
Vivek
Sharma, police superintendent in the nearby city of Rohtak, said that of the
five accused in the gang rape, one is in jail, two have absconded, and two
others allegedly jumped in front of a train and killed themselves within hours
of being named. It was known that some of them were members of the powerful Jat
caste that dominates politics and agriculture in Haryana.
Now
the question arise that why were the police hesitant in filing the case? This
makes us believe that ‘money is power’ and because of which crimes are
increasing every day. In this case Roopa was snatched in the cowshed which
makes me think that people who worship cows end up doing such evil practices in
her shelter home. But these days cows are also treated the same and therefore
we can see many dead cows on the roadside. There is no much difference left in
women and animals as both are treated in the same manner.
In
the end the women are the target and the cause for all the incidents might be
because she is a dalit, backward, illiterate, educated, independent and warm
hearted like the cow. But it’s high time now that we actually show the world
‘The Women’s Power’.
But
how do we go about doing things, when the system in its whole is corrupted and
doomed in money power? Whom do we blame and point out in such situation when
all are to be blamed? Money power has overpowered the human values. It is
indeed very difficult task to come out of such plight and make all things go in
right manner. We still hope to have a safer and better future for women, but it
is up to us as to how we make these changes happen…
By Sofia D'costa
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