One more
horror story has just tumbled out from our so called family oriented Indian household;
that of a father, brother and an uncle raping a girl child for over two years
in a small place called Dharmadom
in north Kerala’s Kannur district. Today, she is thirteen, so when they started she was only eleven.
Those who should have been her protectors were actually her predators. I
believe none of us can even begin to imagine her trauma. Shattered for life she
has been terrorized into bearing this abuse silently; even going about her
daily life, as if nothing had happened. But, a human being can bear only so
much that too at such a tender age. Finally, the barrage did break. It is
creditable that for once the teachers in our not so observant schools actually
noticed her crying and tried to get to the bottom of her misery.
What has
come to light further is that her elder sister had committed suicide. One can
only guess that she too had fallen victim to the horrendous acts of the trio.
The mother has claimed ignorance which is highly unlikely but can only be
explained by the fact that women in Indian homes are powerless against male
members, howsoever, brutish they may be. She obviously has lived in terror
herself, a voiceless person, with perhaps no income or standing of her own.
As per the statistics provided to the press by the
Kerala Police’s State Crime Records Bureau, on an average, three rape cases are
being registered in the State everyday while at least one minor is raped a day.
Twenty cases of crimes against women are registered in the police stations of
Kerala each day.
It is
shocking that these things are happening in Kerela called God’s own country; a
state with a matriarchal society, a high male–female ratio (for every 100 men
there are 109 females) and high level of literacy. Clearly none of these things
matter. The men will always rule the roost. They will, on the basis of sheer
physical strength shown over centuries, continue to abuse women not sparing
their own offspring even. This is not an isolated case. Such stories have been
tumbling out of homes more and more frequently. What it means is that it has
been always happening only more people are gathering the courage eventually to
confide in some outsider who helps them report the case.
What kind
of a creature is the human male? Not different at all it seems from the male
species in the animal kingdom. At least he seems to be getting there.
How do we
save our children (boys are not spared either) from such monsters? Clearly, the
social support systems have disintegrated and the state has not been able to
fill the gap. Whatever little is being done is being done by the non-profit
sector with some help from media whenever such a case comes out in the open.
The police are insensitive, doing shoddy investigation, the courts take years
to convict and justice never seems to be done. Often, the perpetrators of such
crime go scot free if they are influential. That is why there is no fear in
doing such deeds. The classic example of the man, who raped Nurse Aruna Ram chandran Shanbaug in a Mumbai hospital, strangled her with an iron chain and left her
to die, is today married and has even fathered a child after spending only
seven years in jail. While, she has been in coma for the past 38 years ever
since. Is this justice? If these are our laws they need to be changed
immediately. Nothing short of life sentence should be given to such people. And
life sentence should mean full life till death and not just 14 years.
