It was a really sad day for the nation when a Hyderabad veterinarian was allegedly gang-raped by 4 men and killed. Later, all the four accused were caught by the police the next day and sent for 14-day judicial custody. On Friday, we heard that all four accused were killed by the cops during an encounter when they were allegedly trying to escape.
Now the point is, while the people have lauded the Hyderabad police for this action, I feel that in reality, justice was not served to the victim.
But what matters here is that at least they were punished, unlike other rape accused who are roaming around freely. And the proof is that the perpetrators in the 2012 Nirbahaya case still await their fate. The Unnao rape accused were granted bail, who came out and set the girl ablaze. It burns my mind that why would these accused be given bail? And if so, why wasn’t the victim given proper protection at least till the case concluded? Who should be blamed for this? This may erode people’s trust in the judiciary.
Along with strict punishment for rapists, prevention of rape and crimes against women are also necessary. This is one step that is in the power of each woman. It is the duty of society and the authorities to spread awareness about practical and effective self-defence techniques and the means of getting timely help from authorities.
With the passing days and increasing rape incidents, the girls and women are getting increasingly scared. The issue has become a matter of shame for the country as India has been always criticised by other countries over handling of matters related to the safety of women. Even the UK and US have issued an advisory to women against travelling to India. This is not how we want to represent our country to the outside world.
Only when incidents like these take place people talk about it and post about it on social media. After a few days, we forget everything and go back to normal life, until something same happens again. This needs to stop now.
It’s high time such cases see a speedy verdict. There are so many cases in different villages where the accused are asked to marry the rape victim and ‘finish the matter’. But have we ever thought how would the life of the girl be after marrying a person who raped her?
If every time the same things repeat and the accused go free, people will take things in their hands. Same had happened in 2004 when around 200 women had come together and killed rape accused Akku Yadav in a courtroom in Nagpur.
However, I feel, one cannot only blame the judiciary or the cops or people always. It is our responsibility also to take steps for our safety. It is the need of the hour that women should be aware of what to do if we’re stuck in some situations like these.
There are so many helpline numbers and apps for the safety of women formed by the police. Sadly, we are not aware of these. How many women know about the buddy cop safety app for women? If we’re aware of these things, may be, women may get timely help from the police.
We know that while riding in a taxi we can share our location with the family members but we don’t do so, thinking nothing can happen to us, which is a big mistake.
Avanti Deshpande, a resident of the city, said that she knew there are helpline numbers, but she is not aware of the exact number to call when in distress.
However, Bhagyshree Karmalkar, a resident of Kothrud, has a ‘nirbhaya’ number stored in her phone but she is not aware of the safety apps.
We must be aware of these initiatives started by the police and know exactly where to take help from if needed. The police in many cities of the State has also started drop facility for the ladies late at night which again can be used. There are pepper sprays and tasers which should be carried always.
They say God helps those who help themselves. So with this, we must keep ourselves well aware of the facilities that have been made available for us and use those at the proper time. As a woman, I don’t want to be scared when I leave my house or get worried when I see a group of men standing around. I want to live freely without any fear.
Still, this problem of women being abused or raped does not end here. It is a long fight, which we have to face by being strong and it is government and judiciary’s responsibility to take timely action and punish the accused.
There should be a fear of law among criminals and only this way, these criminals will stop committing such heinous crimes.
