I was sitting with my phone in my comfy bed, scrolling through my LinkedIn feed. I came across an insightful post, “Unemployment is the cause of increasing rape cases”.
You can see the screenshot, maybe it will blow your mind or maybe not.
He is the former Chief Justice of India and has given a wholesome explanation on the terrible “Hathras gang rape” incident.
I have been living up to the unreal expectations where people talk about “woke” culture in India when we are still fighting with the idea of modest dressing, the unwanted stares and caste-based sexual assaults.
India is a country where one rape case is reported every 15 minutes, which is still increasing at a rate of 7% as shows the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.
The unlodged FIRs, the cruel details of the crime and the so-called political comments on the incident are enough to make me feel dizzy and helpless. The crux of this inhumane crime starts from accepting this: annihilation of caste and treating women as victims of caste-ism, same goes with “power”.
Let me quote it in this way, I am not a journalist not a law student but “Rape is a Crime”; rape is easy for rapists, start treating Rape as a crime, not just an incident.
India being a secular nation where four Dalit women are raped every day, reminds me of the film Article 15, where two Dalit girls are gang-raped because they asked for a 3-rupee raise in their salary. This shows the true colours of a patriarchal and casteist society.
Digital India is great, but what about the “Patriarchal India”?
There’s more to this heinous crime. This research article serves as an open letter for many minds. Here the author defines Rape like this:
“It was a crime not of passion, but cold premeditation, often coordinated among a group. However, and wherever it occurred, the motive was not sex, but power.”
Putting it in simple words: Rape is not “nonconsensual sex”, it is rape. Meanwhile, Indian law seems to be still upgrading their definition of “Rape” because they still couldn’t find one.
Maybe we “should” start changing the questions from “Was the girl raped?” to “Are these the man who raped the girl?”
OR
Maybe we should start thinking “Why is our system so prone to change their statements on a 19-year-old Dalit girl or 2014 Badaun gang rape or Delta Meghwal Rape case?” Just because they were “Dalit”?
If we are still breathing in this India where our police is a puppet, our constitution seems to allow many of the accused to go scot-free, where only 1 in 4 cases of rape ends in a conviction, and people in power carry on with illogical debates without any concrete action, then GOD help us.
In the book “Why men rape”, the psychology of a rapist is more placed between the facts and dilemma of the collective psyche of a whole culture, shaping misogyny, inhuman and violent behavior towards women.
But, it’s easier said than done.
Yes, we should raise our voice and protest because something inside is burning and is asking for justice, for stricter rules, to educate these awful minds that think “Rape is something they can get away with easily”. We are asking for “No more Nirbhayas”.
But the question is,
How LONG?
How long will this fire keep burning inside us?
How long will we raise our voices against this evil crime?
How long will it take to empower the uneducated poor who are oppressed by the educated powers?
Until we wake up again, perhaps after the next outrage, which will shake our nation Again?
This raises a question on entire humanity, not just the mindset of some people or the government officials but the failing human race.
I don’t know the answer to any of these questions, but I do have a message for all of you,
“Don’t fight for justice, fight against injustice.”