In 2012, when I first heard about the rape of a young girl in a moving bus, I had felt an uneasiness in my stomach. The uneasiness twirled a few cells in my body and made me want to vomit. Today when I saw this video going viral on the internet, I felt the same. Even after 2 years, the uneasiness remains. The reason why it does is because the mindset remains the same. Even after the rapists were given the highest sentence, rapes continue to happen.
Today when I watched the video, I was in tears. A young woman who would have grown to be a very good doctor, a young woman who had dreams to help the underprivileged, a woman who was brave and struggled hard to make ends meet was killed. We lost a woman who would have made a difference. We lost a woman who would have been an inspiration to all those families who feel that a daughter is a burden.
What we are left with is just a system that delays and delays justice of every kind. What we are left with are just shattered dreams and painful tears that wouldn't stop.
We are told that the only way to end this is education. But today when I heard the defence lawyers for the rapists speak in favour, I realised that education alone cannot make a difference. One of the lawyers mentioned that "A woman is like a flower, if it is left in the gutter it will be spoilt and if it is kept in the temple it will be worshipped, while a man is like a thorn that protects the flower".
The other lawyer even spoke about Indian culture which never allows girl to befriend a boy. He even goes ahead saying that he only looks at woman "with sex in his eyes". The NGO for Rape victims and Juveniles even said that we live in a very tolerant country where decisions cannot be based on public outburst.
Just because we have been tolerant all this while has such an incident even happened. Our tolerance has hit a limit and now we cannot be silenced. If a very strong punishment had been given for rapes in our country this incident wouldn't have ever happened.
In the entire video, I cried when I heard the victim's parent speak. But not a single drop of tear fell when the parents of the rapists spoke. There was a burning anger inside me that made me question why did they ever give birth to such criminals. The bus driver who is shown narrating the incident is equally guilty. What shook me was the statements given by the defence lawyers and it made me realise where the mistake is.
The mistake is that we live in a society where men like this do not feel a pinch about such incidents. It will take years before we see a change, before we see every man respect every woman and only with respect will things change.
Today when I watched the video, I was in tears. A young woman who would have grown to be a very good doctor, a young woman who had dreams to help the underprivileged, a woman who was brave and struggled hard to make ends meet was killed. We lost a woman who would have made a difference. We lost a woman who would have been an inspiration to all those families who feel that a daughter is a burden.
What we are left with is just a system that delays and delays justice of every kind. What we are left with are just shattered dreams and painful tears that wouldn't stop.
We are told that the only way to end this is education. But today when I heard the defence lawyers for the rapists speak in favour, I realised that education alone cannot make a difference. One of the lawyers mentioned that "A woman is like a flower, if it is left in the gutter it will be spoilt and if it is kept in the temple it will be worshipped, while a man is like a thorn that protects the flower".
The other lawyer even spoke about Indian culture which never allows girl to befriend a boy. He even goes ahead saying that he only looks at woman "with sex in his eyes". The NGO for Rape victims and Juveniles even said that we live in a very tolerant country where decisions cannot be based on public outburst.
Just because we have been tolerant all this while has such an incident even happened. Our tolerance has hit a limit and now we cannot be silenced. If a very strong punishment had been given for rapes in our country this incident wouldn't have ever happened.
In the entire video, I cried when I heard the victim's parent speak. But not a single drop of tear fell when the parents of the rapists spoke. There was a burning anger inside me that made me question why did they ever give birth to such criminals. The bus driver who is shown narrating the incident is equally guilty. What shook me was the statements given by the defence lawyers and it made me realise where the mistake is.
The mistake is that we live in a society where men like this do not feel a pinch about such incidents. It will take years before we see a change, before we see every man respect every woman and only with respect will things change.
Thanks for sharing, It needs to be heard, to be a mirror to our country and conciseness.
ReplyDelete