Editor, Goemkarponn
AERIAL VIEW
After every such heinous act of rape, we see politicians and celebrities expressing their shock and dismay over the incident, there are drawing-room conversations about what kind of society we have become, and everyone starts talking about how there is a need for a more stern law to deal with savages, who indulge in such crimes. But the sad part is that we have a very myopic memory and very soon everything returns to business as usual until another such mind-numbing incident of rape comes to the fore. This has become our default response, to any such rape incident, which comes into the limelight, as a result of the sheer nature of the brutality associated with it.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
A day after Christmas, Goa woke up to the shocking news of a minor college girl being raped by the bus driver, which brought back the memories of a Nirbhaya rape case in New Delhi.
The incident came as a shocker as the rape occurred in tempo traveller in the heart of the capital city.
Yes, the capital city, which is supposed to be the Smart City with hundreds of cameras, has turned out to be the Smart City of digging instead of that.
Where is the technology that was promised to Goans five years ago? Panaji was supposed to be a highly secure city with hi-tech technology and round-the-clock surveillance; what happened to all those promises?
No matter how much you improve or develop the country, nothing will change unless we change our mindset.
We need to change our mindset and understand that every modern-dressed girl is not available for S… She is free to wear the dress of her choice as she has every right to do so.
In this particular case, the girl was said to be in an inebriated condition, so what? Does that mean that girl in an inebriated condition is freely available?
What stage have we reached? Don’t we have mothers, daughters, or sisters? Would we do dame with them?
Even this survivor is someone’s sister, or daughter. What would the family be going through? When will we understand this?
After every such heinous act of rape, we see politicians and celebrities expressing their shock and dismay over the incident, there are drawing-room conversations about what kind of society we have become, and everyone starts talking about how there is a need for a more stern law to deal with savages, who indulge in such crimes. But the sad part is that we have a very myopic memory and very soon everything returns to business as usual until another such mind-numbing incident of rape comes to the fore. This has become our default response, to any such rape incident, which comes into the limelight, as a result of the sheer nature of the brutality associated with it.
The Nirbhaya rape incident and the public outpouring of grief that followed the case had sparked a hope that finally, things would change for the better in this country. But despite amendments in the statutory book, to bring in harsher penalties for the offenders, we have hardly seen any tangible change or reduction in the frequency of such cases. This also highlights the limitations of the fear of punishment as a deterrent to stop rapes.
Social Mindset Needs To Change
It’s high time that we realise that it’s very easy to express outrage and carry out candle marches in memory of the victims of such incidents, but what is more difficult is to bring about a change in the mindset of society, which, in my opinion, is the prime cause of such crimes against women.
Many children in this country grow up to witness the father enjoying a superior status than the mother and how the final say in any important decision regarding the family rests with him. The fact that some men think they run this world and the women are supposed to be subservient to them gets ingrained in children’s minds throughout the course of their childhood. And as adults, many of them start viewing women either as hapless beings, who need their support or as mere objects for their sexual gratification.
Thus, it’s no wonder that a portion of them turn out to be rapists who think it is fine to violate a woman to show their power and authority over her.
We, as a society, have made certain rules for our women, ranging from what kind of clothes they should wear and at what time they should venture out to whom they are supposed to lose their virginity. And if a girl dares to break these rules and assert her autonomy in this supposedly free world, then we naturally assume that “she is asking for it”.
And that is why you see that culprits of rape in this country get away with a meagre sentence, spending only some years in jail, while on the other hand, it is the rape survivors who have to endure all the slut-shaming, and are forced to spend rest of their lives living under constant shame.
