The Rape-public Country

16 December, 2012, a day which made the country altogether turn around. As I came to know more and more about the cruelty, I felt my insides burning. These rapists are created. The ever old patriarchal society in which they have lived through out has taught them that women are someone to be looked down always. Will they ever realize that by what they have done they are not proving themselves man but inhuman creatures?

The people who look upon the victims as responsible, how do they justify the rape of children? Rape is committed not due to mere sexual desire, but it is an expression of depriving women the right to be human. It is a pity that in a country which is renowned for tradition and culture, these inhuman cruelties are occurring.

"On 16 December 2012 a female physiotherapy intern was beaten and gang raped inDelhi. She died from her injuries thirteen days later while undergoing emergency treatment in Singapore for brain and gastrointestinal damage. After watching a film in South Delhi in the early evening, she and a male companion had boarded a bus, which was being driven as an unauthorized "joyride", thinking it was a public bus. The only other passengers on the bus were five men who were friends of the driver. All six, including the driver, were charged in connection with the sexual assault and have been arrested."

 There is plenty of speculation about what it is about men’s attitude toward women in India, as well as women’s place in society there, that could produce a situation like this. One thing’s for sure, it’s not uncommon. And if you’re looking for the other view, rightly discredited in most countries, you can find it on Twitter. Many Indians reacted with horror and anger to these Tweets from @shivendraINDIA, who calls himself an assistant review officer in the Allahabad High Court (he is listed here with 342 others):

• @saritatanwar why that gal was enjoying with her boyfriend? is it indian culture?
• girl,who was raped in delhi, shud not have followed western culture
• @maheepkapoor. sorry but I think that delhi gals r too modern so that delhi is becoming rape capital

In other words, nice girls don’t go out at night with men and get on city buses. They also should not fall pray to the West with its skimpy clothing, loose morals, premarital sex or other choices that women are allowed to decide for themselves in most countries. India, with its stated goal of equality for everyone, is supposed to be one of those places. Though it’s not a revolutionary thought, there is no excuse for raping a woman or a man, and then beating them almost to death. “She deserved it,” “she’s a whore” and “she asked for it” are not plausible explanations. I don’t mean to sound preachy, which is how I might sound to many American readers. But in India, where women on the street are routinely groped and leered at, these ideas evidently remain in circulation.