By Syed Akrama:
Rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India.
According to the annual report released by the National Crime Records Bureau in 2013, 24,923 rape cases were reported across India in 2012. Out of these, 24,470 were committed by someone known to the survivor (98% of the cases). 36,735 rape cases were reported in 2014 & the number has been increasing.
A huge number of rape incidents are not even reported due to fear of death & shaming. Most of the unreported rape incidents are from rural areas where females are bound to believe that they don’t actually have any rights & they are just a toy for men.
We Indians are somehow exceptionally brilliant in making females believe that being raped is their fault.
In my opinion, Indian media is not even close to bringing justice for rape survivors. I don’t think they are doing enough to cover this issue & make it as one of the primary concern for this nation.
Journalism has the power of doing great things but unfortunately today the Indian media has merely become a puppet of commercial agendas & profiteering. Movies like “All the President’s Men”, ” Frost/Nixon”, “Spotlight” reveals the impact of journalism.
These movies are based upon real incidents which shook the world. A president had to resign & the most powerful organisation of the world was brought down to its knees by constructive journalism. Spotlight even went to receive the Oscar for Best Picture this year.
There are women in rural areas who are abused & raped frequently & they don’t even report these issues because they are unaware of the policies of the system & they are too much ashamed. Two-year-olds are being raped, 75-year-old women are being raped, teenagers are raped & then some are thrown like garbage to die, what is this country coming to?
According to some politicians & others, it is considered habitual for men to behave like perverts & do “things” which boys are meant to do. We have panchayats who punish girls for getting raped & then they have raped again as a part of punishment. Girls are forced to marry their rapists as a part of compensation in some cases, how absurd is this.
I’ll be shocked to see if someone considers rape just as a matter of concern. It’s a matter of shame for us & women safety should be an issue of national importance. What kind of a country are we offering in which we can’t keep our girls safe? The concept of “MARDAANGI” is nothing but just broken logic in India.
I’m in favour of complete equality between genders & I want this discrimination to stop. I’ve full trust & confidence in females I know but yes I’ve concerns for them as well because I know that not everyone has a mindset like me. There are people who think females are provoking them. There are people who still blame women for getting raped.
I believe a serious reform is necessary to bring this issue forward & it is extremely important to make people realise that rapes are happening & everybody should contribute to stopping this completely inhumane act.
Unfortunately, the Indian media is too busy in blame games. We cannot possibly imagine the pain a rape survivor goes through & we are by no means in a position to say that we understand their pain.
There are many social concerns & all of them deserve a great deal of attention, but if we can’t keep females safe in a country which worships numerous goddesses, then we seriously need to give it a thought.
When someone comes to know about a boy drinking alcohol or smoking, they don’t create much hoopla about it but if a girl is doing the same then “oh my god,” she must be a slut.
Why do we ask females to wear “full & appropriate” clothes & never ask a guy to behave? Whenever a sex racket is busted, why does the media always focus on females involved & not on the male members?
Everybody discusses the clothes of a rape survivor, nobody asks about what the rapist was wearing. This patriarchal society is the base for such incidents & we need to change this.
We need to step up with unity & realise that this issue is harming our society in greater extent. Today it’s someone else, tomorrow it can be your sister, mother, wife, daughter, friend, or anyone that you care for.
We need to make a secure environment for EVERYONE in this country.
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