Rape....

Uncle Rapes Niece.
Minor Gangraped.
Teacher Abuses Teenage Girls.
Girl Raped by Lover's Friends.
We read these headlines everyday in the newspaper. Every minute a woman is raped in some part of the world or the other. Isnt it scary? What is this world coming to? What are these men thinking? Abusing children, teenagers, women! Why is there a sudden rise in the number of rape cases? Is this rise sudden? Or is it just that people are speaking about these issues lately?
I saw this Marathi movie a couple of days back which got me thinking about this issue. The story of the movie goes like...
There are these college-going girls staying in a hostel. They are going around with some guys n stuff. On Valentine's day one of the 2 couples goes for a stroll in the woods where a policewala catches them. The guy gets scared and runs away deserting the girl. The policeman taking advantage of her helpessness rapes her. She is thrown out of the college but is allowed 2 give her exams and stay in the hostel. She registers a complaint but hides the issue from her parents. Her boyfriend breaks up with her. Not because he doesnt love her anymore. But jus because she was raped. Her not being a virgin bothers him. He cant digest the fact she was raped. The girl on the other hand is pretty strong. She forgives him and lets go. Their friends speak to the guy one night about him breaking up. And he puts forth a question "will u marry ur girlfriend if she was raped?" And his friends have no answer to that question...they are in love but not ready to support their girlfriends when they are raped. They cannot marry a woman who is raped. They cannot accept the fact that she isnt a virgin. That somebody else has "used her".
The climax includes the last hearing in the court. When the girl is given a chance to speak she goes on to explain how she is blamed, how her guy leaves her as he cant face her anymore, how she has to pay a heavy price for being a woman, how she has realised what the society is like. In the end she says, " i dont need justice" for it doesnt matter to her anymore.
The movie though clumsily done highlights many issues:
1. The most important..Rape. It is one of the biggest social evils today. Many innocent women have to suffer just because somebody cannot control his raging hormones and is desparate for sex. The offender gets away in most of the cases. It is the victims life which is messed up.
2. It is always the woman who is blamed. Some time back Shiv Sena's mouthpiece Samna come up with an article which said "the woman invites rape". What do u make of that? I dont think there is a single woman in this world who wants to be raped. I know women do fantasize about such things but then they are just fantasies. Reality isnt all that rosy. Rape isnt something a woman would long for. Some people went further to say that "women dress provocatively". Are you trying to say that you are so implusive and that you have no control over yourself? A girl dressed in a skirt and a sleeveless t-shirt get you so wild that you are compelled to rape her? And dont we, women, have a right to dress as we like. Do u expect us all to clad ourselves in burkhas n go everywhere just because you men are desparate animals?
Why is it that the woman is criticised? Why is that everyone points fingers at the girl? Why is it that she is the one who is thrown out of the college? Why is it that she has to live with the tag forever? Isnt her humiliation by one person enough that the whole society has to join in?
3. The police is no different from our roadside romeos. All Mumbai-ites are aware of the Marine Drive rape case. A college going girl was raped by a constable, Sunil More in broad daylight. The news sent shockwaves through the city. People were very agitated. But now the whole issue has been forgotten. I would like to mention here that our Constitution states that a woman cannot be arrested between 6 PM and 6 AM. Also when she is arrested, she can demand the prescence of a lady constable and also demand to be taken to an all-women-police-station. Today we need protection from the police and not by the police. We need to be aware of our rights because awareness might just save us from being raped.
4. Another important point that the movie makes is that even though we are living in the 21st century our thoughts and beliefs still remain orthodox. How many of us will break up if we find out that our partner had been sexually involved wid someone else? how many of us are ready to accept the idea that he/she must have enjoyed sex wid some1 else? how many of us
would marry a girl who has been raped? and how many of us will be able to forget what happened n move on? Most of us would just prefer to walk away. Who wants to live wid such a burden?
5. What is our Government doing about the increasing rape incidents? Sometime back a person accused of rape was left scott free just because according to the judge he was "the sole bread winner of the family" and tht if he was put in jail his family would have nowhere to go. Now my question is didnt the person realise that he was the "sole bread winner" when he commited the crime? Why didnt he think about his family, his wife, his children? What kind of justice is this? Does this mean that any1 who is the "sole bread winner" is free to rape any1 he feels like? Why doesnt our Government pass a strict law? Why isnt a person commiting rape sentenced to death? When a girl is raped her whole life changes. The emotional trauma she goes through is unbearable. In addition to this the society is after her life. Moreover the media doesnt spare her. What is her fault? Why is she being punished like that? And the person who is responsible for all this is allowed to continue wid this life? This is a complete mockery of the whole judicial system.
The movie has brought so much to light. The film has raised so many questions. Finding answers to these is necessary. Any1 of us can be a victim tomorrow. The issue has to be given a serious thought.