It was 8 pm when I found out about Supreme Court’s verdict on Nirbhaya case. I could feel it down my spine, the public uproar for justice on 16th December and her last wish for these men to be hanged. This is the fourth time Supreme Court has announced capital punishment and the second time against the rape charges. “Damini”- a name which brought out a revolution but failed to eradicate the problems from the root. She faced the utmost brutality but is still unable to heal the pain of a little girl sexually harassed by her own people. The whole country demanded justice for her but not a single person changed to treat a rape victim better from then on. A thousand of candles witnessed the hope and unity but it still couldn’t save a girl from being a victim of female foeticide.
What do you think how does it feel to be a victim? Not necessarily a rape victim, but just someone whose soul was snatched away by a stranger with the intention of having fun. Nobody wants to be a victim, right? Nobody wants to be served like a dish on someone’s thigh. Nobody wants to be called ‘black’ in shopping malls. Nobody wants to be killed in the name of ‘Gau Raksha’. Nobody wants to throw a stone at the government. Nobody wants to hide his/her identity as transgender. Nobody wants to be raped on his/her wedding night. And nobody wants to be the nobody.
During an interview with the mail today, one of Nirbhaya gang rape convict’s sister said that anyone can make mistakes in India and should be given a second chance. Claiming that it is not always the boy’s fault, she added that the girls provoke guys too. She further said that despite having a tainted image, she still loves her brother Pawan. The statement was not shocking enough as she has her own freedom of speech and expression. But little lassie, stop being like some politician who thinks “chowmein is the cause of rape”. Even questioning a girl’s intention in her own rape should be a crime. After horrendous allegations, let’s discuss woman faults in instigating a man to rape her.
-Yes, she was sitting silently, looking out the window when a bus conductor called her ‘beta’ and started caressing her breast with his elbow. The fault was her silence.
-Yes, she was too much interested in chocolates when he was moving his finger inside her 3-year-old vagina. The fault was her innocence.
-Yes, she was walking on a footpath and embracing the beauty of freedom when a car stopped to fetch her. The fault was her courage to walk alone.
-Yes, she was in love when her husband forced her to be his sex slave. The fault was her patience.
-Yes, she was studying in a train when a group of men were watching her breast instead of her passion. The fault was her dream of becoming an IAS officer.
Enough faults to call her a criminal, instead of a victim?