NO WOMAN IS DESPERATE TO BE RAPED!

BY ADITHIMANASA

Dr. Asha Mirje is the woman who made news with her controversial statements.

• Girls should not wear clothes that provoke men.

• Girls need to keep in mind the time when they step out of their house.

• Girls need to be careful about their body language.

Agreed. Girls need to be careful about this; girls need to be careful about that; girls need to be careful about everything. Had she stopped at this, the issue wouldn't have been in the news. Being a gynaecologist and being involved in social service, the statements she made shocked everyone.

• Why did Nirbhaya go to the movie with her boyfriend late in the night? Why didn't she go for a morning or afternoon show?

• Nirbhaya invited her rapists!

Good lord! What a statement! Nirbhaya was not only raped, but also brutally tortured and thrown out of a moving bus. She was not even in a position to seek help. After battling for life in the hospital for many days, she breathed her last. Dr. Asha Mirje said that this lass invited rapists!

The fame chasing Dr Mirje. Photo courtesy: The Dailymail

Had Nirbhaya been Dr. Asha Mirje's daughter, would such words come out of Dr. Asha Mirje's mouth? Moreover Congress MP Supriya Sule sat next to Dr. Asha Mirje as if listening to a sermon. Even this female did not feel like interrupting Dr. Asha Mirje! What is to become of us women if women leaders make such horrendous statements? God save us!

• It was the fault of the photojournalist who was gang raped at Shakti Mills. What was the necessity to go to a desolate area alone?

The victim is a photojournalist! Was she supposed to click photographs and collect information from the comfort of her house?

What about women employees of BPO who work late night? Are they supposed to sleep in the office then? Are graveyard shifts meant for male employees alone? If that is the case, then Dr. Asha Mirje, are you going to provide an alternate day job to all those female workers? If you insist women not to step out of their houses then why are you out here to deliver speeches? Even you need to stay indoors! Else, it means that you are inviting rapists!

According to Dr. Asha Mirje, hairstyles and dressing provoke men. If so then why don't rapists spare infants and school kids? Do children wear provocative dress? Why are churidhar/salwar kameez and burqa clad women eve-teased? Do those women hold placards that read "COME, RAPE US”? Or are such comments written all over their face? How dare you question Nirbhaya's character? Doctor madam, you have no right to point fingers at any rape victim or talk about her morale. You should be ashamed of making such statements. Remember, you too are a woman!

It's the mindset of the rapist and not the clothes on the victim's body that need to be changed. Gentlemen don't get provoked. Rapists, sexual offenders, molesters and eve teasers don't need a reason to get provoked.

First comment and then apologize. Why make such sensitive statements in the first place?

Our answer to those who validate rape. Photo courtesy: Reuters

Dr. Asha Mirje, you crave for limelight. You need to first get treated for this disease of yours. NO WOMAN IS DESPERATE TO GET RAPED! You call yourself a social worker? Then you must instill courage in women, not scare them all the more!

It is not the rape victim but women like you making senseless statements that are disgrace to the female clan.

ALAS! HERS IS REALLY A WOEBEGONE PLIGHT!

BY CHAITANYESH RUDRACHARYA

Life is a gift of God! Enjoy it! But please, never enjoy your life to harm others, in whichever way it can be! 

The whole nation was up in arms in December 2012! Nirbhaya, a medical student was gang-raped on the roads of the national capital on a bitingly cold Sunday night. After this heinous act, she and her friend, a male, were thrown out of a moving bus, in utter disdain! Horrific and gruesome! No woman or man must ever be subjected to any form of cruelty, for dignity is everyone’s right. But alas! What I say is mere fiction and idealism, for Man has become his worst enemy!

Picture courtesy- Pinki Virani 

For some reason, I began thinking of this girl Nirbhaya aka Jyoti and the ordeal she faced. I felt very sorry for her. So would anyone. And as I was lost in her thoughts, I was reminded of another woman who was raped as many as 40 years ago in a hospital where she practised nursing as her profession. Words truly fail to describe the gut-wrenching condition of Aruna. A look at her in this photograph will bring tears and melt hearts of even the most barbaric and uncivilised brutes.  

Aruna Shanbaug had chosen nursing as her profession to soothe and serve ailing souls, but even in her wildest dreams, she would not have known she would end up on the bed as a victim of rape… as a victim who would never recuperate from rape… be it ten or twenty or forty years! Sohan Lal Walmiki was a ward boy in the same hospital as Aruna’s. And it was he who perpetrated the most henious crime… rape of Aruna Shanbaug. 

But why? 

It is alleged that Sohan Walmiki had fallen into bad company and was frequently stealing money from the purses of the people in the hospital. During one such time, Aruna Shanbaug caught him. Vexed at this, she reprimanded him badly and brought the matter to the notice of the higher ups. With this, Aruna Shanbaug thought the matter had come to an end. she also thought Walmiki would mend his behaviour, but unfortunately that was not the case.

Infuriated at this, Walmiki decided to teach her a lesson and he was waiting for an apt moment for the same. On that ill-fated day, Aruna Shanbaug, after her work, came down to the basement of the hospital to change her dress. Incidentally, this basement, during those times, was completely eerie, with no men or women around. In fact, Aruna had been warned several times not to go to that room all alone, but this warning only fell on deaf ears. 

By the way, as Aruna got into the room and began changing her clothes, Walmiki stepped in with vengeance as his driving force and rape as the reprisal! And then, locking the room, he did the unthinkable! What’s worse, Sohan ensured that she could not scream by gagging her mouth and leashing her using a dog chain! By the way, that day, Aruna had had her periods as well but that too did not deter Arun from unleashing his violence. He sodomised her!

Once the forced sodomy was unleashed, Walmiki silently slipped away from the room, while Aruna lay on the bed, like a lifeless body! The matter came to light, fortunately, when, after the crime was perpetrated, one of the ward boys too came to the room, to change his dress. It was at this juncture that he saw Aruna’s neck tied with a dog’s chain and blood drops trickling down. Appalled at what he had seen, he informed the others, who immediately shifted her to the ward for treatment. 

Truly, that was one moment ghastly enough to scar her life forever! As the treatment was to begin, doctors were horrified to see her brain partially ruptured and many of her organs become dysfunctional! As he choked her with a dog chain and sodomized her, the asphyxiation cut off oxygen supply to her brain, resulting in brain stem contusion injury and cervical cord injury apart from leaving her cortically blind.

That horrible incident took place way back in 1973. Today, it’s been more than 40 years. And you may find it difficult to believe that even to this day Aruna lies on a bed in the same state! She can’t move nor can make her organs function. Like a small child, she lies on the bed, nurses keep taking care of her in turn! 

When one of her friends approached the Supreme Court, it permitted passive euthanasia on her. Even to this day, many rapes, gangrapes and even pedophilia are perpetrated with unimaginable rudery! 

Is being born a woman a crime in our country?  

THE BLAME GAME

BY ADITHIMANASA

“The girls are to be blamed! Just look at the way they dress…” 

Picture courtesy- www.policymic.com

I couldn’t help overhearing two ladies talk among themselves. The women were sitting behind me. One was pointing at the front page of a newspaper. It was evident that the two were discussing about a girl being gang-raped. The saree clad women were very sure that the victim’s dress ‘provoked’ the rapists. 

A few men sitting in the bus looked at the women and nodded their heads in agreement. On getting some attention, the women’s conversation grew louder and louder. The women also pointed at a few college going girls in the crowded bus. The girls were oblivious of what they were discussing as they were only hoping to get a seat. Many of them had their ear plugs on listening to the radio.  

The women were worried at the way the young girls were dressed up. They were upset that the girls chose to wear sleeveless tops and low waist jeans. “How can you blame the men? If these girls walk around in skimpy outfits, they are bound to get unwanted attention. The men will get tempted. Why wear such clothes and invite trouble? ” they were heard saying. 

One more woman joined them. She opined that girls partying late into the night and roaming in the streets after dark are also reasons for the increase in the number of rapes in the city. I wanted to know what they had to say about women working late at nights. Is working for a BPO a crime then? What about female bartenders? What about students working part-time to arrange for the exorbitant college fees?

Picture courtesy- www.huffingtonpost.com

No girl is stupid. Necessity makes people take up odd jobs even if they are uncomfortable with it. Sometimes people are compelled to work 20-hours a day! All are not blessed. All are not lucky. I wondered what these women had to say about such hardworking females.

The bus slowed down and a pretty lass got in. She was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. The topic immediately changed. The women yet again began to talk about her clothes. I turned and looked at the women. While one had a frown the other had a worried look and yet another was shocked out of her wits. I couldn’t help but chuckle. 

Picture courtesy- www.dailymail.co.uk

All of a sudden, we heard a cry. A girl punched a man on his face. The frightened man got off the bus before anyone could catch hold of him. He ran across the street and vanished. People in the bus were curious to know what had happened to the girl. Why did she punch that man? The aged conductor tried consoling her. She had hit the man for misbehaving with her.

The women were no longer talking. They kept looking at the brave girl who was still fuming with anger. The salwar kameez clad gutsy girl got down at the next stop and walked away. An eerie silence in the bus loomed.

TRAINS & NIGHTMARES

BY NOLAN PINTO

It was almost 8 years since I last stepped into a train to travel anywhere and I would not have done it if not for them being damn cost effective especially for short journeys. The cost of a train ticket on the push pull from Bangalore to Mysore at 6 in the evening and then again from Mysore to Bangalore at 6 in the morning is peanuts considering the way the volvo bus tickets cost today and also if one had to drive all the way to and fro.

But what always stopped me from taking one of these trains at these hours was the cattle class treatment. Whenever I traveled, and thought of taking a train journey, I would always stop myself just because of this. But a few weeks ago, I decided after 8 long years to once more give it a try and once I stepped in, I immediately regretted it.

It was in the evening and more than 90% of the passengers were heading home. Many were drunk and sweaty and the stench in the bogey was just unbelievable. To add to the misery were the dull lights and the continuous buzz of many top fans on. But what I hated the most was the ever growing number of passengers entering just literally squeezing me. It was like if you decide to move your finger, you would for sure touch somebody somewhere on their body. My thoughts immediately went to how Jews were transported in train cars stuffed tightly together on their way to be gassed by the Nazis!!

The most common mode of transport can also be very deadly!

Sad though, for the women who had to manage like us men in the stuffed compartment. Men would deliberately push against them and with the train moving continuously, they could always say they did not do it on purpose and conveniently blame the train. To add to that misery for them, many would just keep on staring and one does know what they mean when they stare in that way, they literally rape these hapless women with their eyes.

Why on earth can’t the railways just add more bogeys for these rush hours in the morning and evening? What’s the big difficulty in that? And why can’t they just have at least 2 separate bogeys for women? At least in that if they all stand together crammed up, at least they will be safe from those prying eyes and also unnecessary touch.

Adding more bogeys the solution?

Many years ago while in my final year degree, while returning to Mysore with my classmates most of who were girls, we happened to see something that left us all disgusted. A bunch of young boys, a little older to us brought in a woman and initially made her stand near the toilet. Then it began. One by one, they all took turns to force her into the toilet, finish their work with her for a good 10-15 minutes and get out. This went on for almost half the journey till Mandya and we just could not do anything about it. Even the adults on the train were helpless against this bunch of rowdies. This matter has digressed from the cattle class treatment to security in trains but it happened in the same rush hour train at 6 in the evening.

What I am trying to say here is this: Have extra bogeys during the rush hour and keep at least 2 of them exclusively for women and have some RPF personnel for the safety of passengers even on short journeys moving from one bogey to another continuously. But really, after 8 years, I thought things would have changed but sadly I was wrong.