(http://www.indusladies.com/forums/blogs/induslady/indusladies-4th-annual-international-women-8412/)
Here is my entry for this contest. I've chosen to write on "Making India Safe for women." This is a work of imagination, where the story depicts the conversation among three rape victims, belonging to different strata of society, their feelings, emotions and what do they think that can be done to change the scenario.
It was dark... very very dark, until I opened my
eyes to that flash of light. I was lying beneath the sky... with no one around. While wondering regarding my whereabouts, I tried to get up. I was surprised!!! Despite of blood all over my lower body, my body felt so light.... there was no
pain… It was just a few minutes ago I was experiencing huge pain and now there were no IV's, no hospital odour and no restriction of movements... Ah! Finally I was liberated... I found myself on a bridge made of CLOUDS!!! SO that means... that means I'm DEAD!!! Ah.... I struggled so hard to survive and then I just died... I felt disgusted. I felt as if those 6 monsters who raped me that night, are laughing over me.
It took me sometime to come in terms with the reality. After all, a truth like this is not easily gulp-able. Suddenly I realised that there was someone else too.
I loomed at the other end. There was a girl, wearing salwar kameez. I approached her out of curiosity. The girl was sobbing with her face dug into her lap. I asked her, "What happened to you? Why are you crying?"
Gradually she lifted her face and dared to raise her eyes to look towards me. I could clearly see the horror in her eyes... She looked traumatised. I sat near her and tried to console her, in order to bring her to a normal state, when all of a sudden the bridge trembled... their was a new entrant in the bridge. I quickly tried to reach there. It was a girl, must be around 15-16, wearing her school uniform. She was lying there unconscious.
I sat nearby, looking towards the endless sky and preparing a list of questionnaire, in my mind, which I wanted the God to answer, when I meet him.
I loomed at the other end. There was a girl, wearing salwar kameez. I approached her out of curiosity. The girl was sobbing with her face dug into her lap. I asked her, "What happened to you? Why are you crying?"
Gradually she lifted her face and dared to raise her eyes to look towards me. I could clearly see the horror in her eyes... She looked traumatised. I sat near her and tried to console her, in order to bring her to a normal state, when all of a sudden the bridge trembled... their was a new entrant in the bridge. I quickly tried to reach there. It was a girl, must be around 15-16, wearing her school uniform. She was lying there unconscious.
I sat nearby, looking towards the endless sky and preparing a list of questionnaire, in my mind, which I wanted the God to answer, when I meet him.
It was quite a while now. The girl was murmuring something, I immediately shifted towards her, to see if she needs something. "Needs?" I laughed at myself. I forgot that we all were DEAD... the end of all desires, all ambitions, all dreams and of course all needs. She opened her eyes slowly and asked me where was she.
"Don't worry. Its end of all the suffering... we are dead!" I told her the truth.
"Dead???" She was perplexed.
"Yes," I replied, "The end of all the pains."
"But what about injury to mind, a tattered soul and an absolute denial of self-respect ???" She enquired.
There was absolute silence for a while, until she spoke, "I'm Nisha."
"I'm Nirbhaya," I introduced myself.
"Oh! I see... I've read a lot about you... you are such a brave girl.."
"Brave?" I laughed off, "How can I be brave, I couldn't complete my struggle against those six devils who tried to snatch every bit of me, that night."
"Yeah... and but at least you tried, and you dared to fight the battle of life to the farthest extent possible. You don't know but there are many girls who look up to you for the courage you showed. I being one of them...
She told me that how
she was raped by her own uncle, and when she decided to teach him a lesson, both of them got
killed, accidently, in a hassle. She was crying.
I tried to console her, "I can relate with what you must have going through..."
"No!!! You can't..." She exploded. "How can you relate the pain given by people who are suppose to protect you?How would you handle such a betrayal? The sense of insecurity and terror makes life horrible... Can you believe my own uncle has been rapping me since I was 12, in my own house???"
"I can", the girl wearing salwar kameez, sitting on the other side, spoke abruptly, "I can relate with your pain, your suffering. I’m Meenu and I know how does it feel when some 20 known people gang rape you just because you refuse to close your school for girls. Di! I still don’t know what my fault was?”
She came near us and continued, " They say that a girl's chastity lies in her own hands and the girls who wear short clothes and roam around at night give invitation to the trouble. I always obeyed what they told me in my village, always covered myself from head to toe, even covered my face too... then what triggered those beasts????"
"I don't understand, at times how our society behaves." I said, " I mean... my only mistake that night was that I decided to spend an evening with my boyfriend? Does that give a license to any Tom Dick and Harry to consider me as a public property?"
Nisha interrupted, " True... on one hand we have constitutional guaranteed freedom of liberty, speech and a quality life .... but where do they exist in reality.... I mean I've been snatched of all these rights at every step- I was told by my mother not to stay out of home till late, not to go alone often, never take panga with guys, howsoever bad their comments may be...and then… what happened....I was rapped at my home itself??? The place which is considered as the safest for women?"
"Nisha Di" Meenu spoke, " I don't know much about what you are saying , Its all Greek to me... But I can tell you that there are several rules made by our aunts in the village, which they have been following for the ages, like not to raise voice before a male,not to educate a girl child much, suggesting their sons to use physical abuse to keep females in control, females always come after males and thus given a secondary treatment even when it comes to eat food also."
I tried to console her, "I can relate with what you must have going through..."
"No!!! You can't..." She exploded. "How can you relate the pain given by people who are suppose to protect you?How would you handle such a betrayal? The sense of insecurity and terror makes life horrible... Can you believe my own uncle has been rapping me since I was 12, in my own house???"
"I can", the girl wearing salwar kameez, sitting on the other side, spoke abruptly, "I can relate with your pain, your suffering. I’m Meenu and I know how does it feel when some 20 known people gang rape you just because you refuse to close your school for girls. Di! I still don’t know what my fault was?”
She came near us and continued, " They say that a girl's chastity lies in her own hands and the girls who wear short clothes and roam around at night give invitation to the trouble. I always obeyed what they told me in my village, always covered myself from head to toe, even covered my face too... then what triggered those beasts????"
"I don't understand, at times how our society behaves." I said, " I mean... my only mistake that night was that I decided to spend an evening with my boyfriend? Does that give a license to any Tom Dick and Harry to consider me as a public property?"
Nisha interrupted, " True... on one hand we have constitutional guaranteed freedom of liberty, speech and a quality life .... but where do they exist in reality.... I mean I've been snatched of all these rights at every step- I was told by my mother not to stay out of home till late, not to go alone often, never take panga with guys, howsoever bad their comments may be...and then… what happened....I was rapped at my home itself??? The place which is considered as the safest for women?"
"Nisha Di" Meenu spoke, " I don't know much about what you are saying , Its all Greek to me... But I can tell you that there are several rules made by our aunts in the village, which they have been following for the ages, like not to raise voice before a male,not to educate a girl child much, suggesting their sons to use physical abuse to keep females in control, females always come after males and thus given a secondary treatment even when it comes to eat food also."
(Courtsey: www.youtube.com)
"Hah..."I took a deep sigh, "so there are so many unwritten rules and regulations made by the society which are regarded over and above our Constitution, when it comes to implementation. The irony of the situation is that mostly the women are the prescribers, and later the subscribers of these rules! “
"You are right," agreed Nisha, " A woman is the one who makes a family and has power to shape it up in whatever way she wants. Home, is after all, the first school. They should not only preach all the morals to the girl child only but extend some of this moral education to sons as well. They should make it a point that necessary values like respecting woman and treating them as their equal counterparts, are well inculcated within them."
I nodded, "Yes! With this lets also pray that at the eve of this women's day, women, would learn some lessons from us. May they learn to stand for themselves and raise their voice against wrong, not only for themselves but for others as well. As until and unless they would support such a change, this scenario is not gonna change!"
Holding each other's hands, we all looked towards the sky... perhaps waiting for the dawn to break......
"Hah..."I took a deep sigh, "so there are so many unwritten rules and regulations made by the society which are regarded over and above our Constitution, when it comes to implementation. The irony of the situation is that mostly the women are the prescribers, and later the subscribers of these rules! “
"You are right," agreed Nisha, " A woman is the one who makes a family and has power to shape it up in whatever way she wants. Home, is after all, the first school. They should not only preach all the morals to the girl child only but extend some of this moral education to sons as well. They should make it a point that necessary values like respecting woman and treating them as their equal counterparts, are well inculcated within them."
I nodded, "Yes! With this lets also pray that at the eve of this women's day, women, would learn some lessons from us. May they learn to stand for themselves and raise their voice against wrong, not only for themselves but for others as well. As until and unless they would support such a change, this scenario is not gonna change!"
Holding each other's hands, we all looked towards the sky... perhaps waiting for the dawn to break......
No comments:
Post a Comment