Look around you; everything is changing. We see rage and sadness, protests and endless debates, with no substantial or suitable outcome. While you sit in your room, you read yet another article about a yet another woman, as the echoes of a young, 26-year-old vet’s screams in your ears, remain unabated.
The nation hadn’t even stopped shivering in the wake of the evil unleashed on a young vet in Telangana; when the afternoon of the 5th of December engulfed it in a yet another incident of a woman struggling to find justice!
Last year, in December 2018, a woman from Unnao was gang-raped by 5 men. The victim had allegedly been in a toxic relationship with one of the accused, who used to physically assault her and lured her to stay in the relationship, on the pretext of presenting her with a marriage proposal.
Things went on, the way they were, until one day, her then-boyfriend, along with his friends, reportedly raped her. It should be duly noted that it was only after the intervention of the local court, that a report was filed in March this year, after which, the accused were set out on bail.
Paying the price for the infamously negligent law and order system, in the nation we live in, the victim was set ablaze on the morning of 5th of December/ This happened, when she, along with her parents, were on their way from her village in Unnao, to the Rae Bareli court, where the trial was being held.
With her body 90% burnt, the woman ran for a kilometre, shouting for help, until a few villagers saw her. It is reported that the victim herself had called the police on her mobile phone. The victim’s body was 90% burnt, and she was in a very critical state. After battling to stay alive for more than 40 hours, at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, she died on Friday night (6th December).
What can we do? One voice can’t change things around? If we raised our voices, would they be suppressed brutally?
Let us face it, our bags are always full of excuses. We are living in a country, where we have always had to stand up for ourselves – look at history! People have always made sacrifices! The names you count on with pride, the names in the books, the children are taught from – they are on your lips because those people made sacrifices for you to be able to speak today! Also, are we not suffering, anyway?