PHOTO CREDIT: jonathanlangley.wordpress.com

This is an open letter to Ms. Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition Lok Sabha, by Another (Indian) Girl. 

Dear Ma’m,

Women in position of power, like yourself, have the opportunity to finally do something concrete to improve the plight of women and young girls in India. Please don’t stop at demanding a flat and a job for Nirbhaya’s family members, do something about the problem at large. Nation’s mood and the youth power are with you.

As per National Crime Records Bureau’s 2011 figures, every 22 minutes a girl gets raped in India, every 15 minutes a girl is kidnapped, every 12 minutes a girl is molested, every 5 minutes a women is abused by her husband or some relative.

These figures are horrifying. And they haven’t seen the peak yet. The rate at which crime against women is rising in India is alarming. Recent gang-rape and murder of 23 yr old (called Nirbhaya by TOI) is a grim reflection of the society we live in. All women in India, we bet without any exception, will tell you that they have faced sexual harassment of some sort in their lives.

It’s a problem that’s deep rooted in our patriarchal society. A society that sees women as a species somehow inferior to men – a human form that deserves no or a limited supply of free air – a breed that’s meant to be a subservient subordinate to men. When we demand justice we are seen as rebellious brats or some ignorable “dented and painted” (a reference to a recent outrageous remark by none other than Indian President’s son) women.

We don’t expect that the attitude towards us will change overnight. We don’t expect any quick solutions either. Honestly, we don’t even expect a complete solution. What we are expecting and seeking are some baby steps, some really doable things, towards the safety and security of women in this country. Some small concrete changes that are well within your capacity as a leader of opposition, who’s also a woman herself.

Let’s start with public transport. Let’s make buses safer for women.

Boarding a public bus, for a woman in India, is the most horrific experience. It’s like walking into some sex starved herd of wolfs – waiting to pounce upon you with tongues out.

Government is talking about having guards in the buses. Yes, we need them. Why not also start special buses for women only, and have women driver driving them? If we can have woman coaches in metros and local trains – why not women only buses at least in the cities?

Knowing how, and how much, the police have protected the women, it’s difficult to accept bus guards as a solution to this sick problem. Please demand special buses for women. Please prevent more women from meeting Nirbhaya’s fate. Please do.

Yours sincerely,

Just Another Girl!

Opening a newspaper in the morning these days is like opening your eyes to really just three things – rape, murder, and robbery. You can choose not to open a newspaper or keep your shining TV off and live in denial but the harsh reality is that that’s what the humanity has degraded down to. And someone please tell the Creator that it’s scary being part of it.

Recent incidents of brutal gang-rape and murder of a 23 years old girl in New Delhi and the barbaric killing of 26 school children and their teachers in Newton (Connecticut) are grim reminders of the mounting dangers to our civilization.

Ironically, we are exploring life in outer space but not doing enough to safeguard the life that exists on this very planet. Not even questioning enough – this outbreak of animal instincts. We are preaching, emphatically, to preserve the earth from global warming but we are okay with the idea of living with ticking human bombs. We emphasize the importance of education but are failing to teach the basic lessons of humanity.

You can give any reason to the rising crime.

It’s lack of education – some will say. Well, the terrorists who flew planes into World Trade Center killing thousands of innocent lives didn’t lack any education. Terrorists who bombed Mumbai were no illiterate either. In fact, they all probably had an overdose, or a twisted version, of it.

Some say, it’s the divide between rich and poor that compels the poor towards mindless crime. Indian politicians, if they make their true wealth public, would topple everyone on the Forbes World’s Richest list but a majority of them are still not done robbing. They continue to loot taxpayer’s money to build their own castles, to buy their own planes, or to simply stash it in Swiss banks. They make the laws – they control the enforcement – who on earth will stop them?

Some Hindu great minds will tell you that it’s all happening because we are living in Kaliyuga where our spiritual values are bound to degenerate. We are prone to hate and eliminate each other. We are slave to our lust and ego. We are addicted to material pleasures. We are bound to hurt the weakest most to feel most powerful. We haven’t seen the prior yuga (era) or the one forthcoming so don’t know if this is the special nature of the current one but accepting it as is, with folded hands, is like choosing to be an animal.

When a woman or young girl is raped, people blame her for the incident. She called it upon herself – by wearing something provocative, by being somewhere she shouldn’t have been, or by being in the wrong company. For God sake, she deserves the same rights that you enjoy – visiting any place, any time, in any dress, with anyone she likes. (Read: Celebrate being a Girl)  Damn it! Majority of rapes in India occur inside the very house that’s supposed to be hers, by the people who are supposed to care for and protect her.

In our quest for survival, instead of tackling the problem, we have learnt to live with it. Every time a shocking incident of rape, murder, robbery or some other horrible nature takes place, we have learnt to express our anger and anguish, cry a few tears out and then go back to our lives – in the same old endangered environment – accepting it as it is – being part of it – being party to it.

Year 2013 is here. It’s time we start soul searching. It’s time we question what kind of world we want for ourselves and for the generations to come. It’s time we ask ourselves what is it that we’ll do to preserve humanity, to bury the animal instincts deep beneath love and respect, to be the change that we want to see.

The world may be hostile to the idea of women’s dignity and her freedom to choose who she wants to be but waiting for the world to change for us would be underestimating our own power!

We can complain about men, who leer at us, pass lewd remarks, or touch us the wrong way, who deny us the right to education, who demand dowry, or who like to curtail our freedom, but unless we stand for ourselves change will stay a remote hope.

Love and be proud of who you are. Celebrate your girlhood!

WEAR YOUR FANCY IN PRIDE

Some will tell you that your tight jeans is provocative. Some will term you a slut if they see you in skirt. Others will raise serious objection to your sleeveless avatar. Some will even question the way you do your hair. Damn ‘em all. Wear what you like wearing. Step out with all your pride and flaunt your style! Carry a hand mirror to give yourself an occasional appreciative look to remind men around that you have dressed up for yourself, not for ‘em.

MAKE YOUR PLACE

Demanding your share of space in this patriarchal society is inviting more diktats. Make your own place at home, in the class, at work, and even on the streets that feel dominated by men. Arm yourself with knowledge and education. Chase your dreams with all your charm. Learn and exercise a kick or two, if that helps. Let the world know that you are no less.

ENTERTAIN YOURSELF

Dance in defiance to those who can’t see you happy. Who think your place is restricted to kitchen and bedroom. Who question your character if you are spotted outside your residence after sunset. Lift some addictive tunes, choreograph your own steps. Let those hair fly, and body roll. While drums do the singing, girl! you seize the dance floor.

FIND YOUR VOICE

Don’t utter a word against them or their diktats, they will tell you. Don’t live in fear, scare the supposedly fearless instead. Know and fight for your rights. Be your own force. Be your own voice! When you speak up many more voices will join,  and give that invincible power to yours.

READ: More Poetry on Women by Ramna Sharma

To kick start the celebrations, read this poem by Ramna Sharma.

December 29, 2012 – Another girl violated, another life punctuated by the brutality of those men who regard women as mere sex objects. Another hole punched in the world’s largest democracy where women, accounting for half of its population, are yet to attain their true freedom!

The 23-year old paramedical student who was gang-raped, 13 days ago, by six men in Delhi succumbed to injuries this morning. She was so brutally raped and violated with an iron rod that her intestine had to be removed. But she was a brave girl who wanted to live and fight on. For two weeks she battled against all odds to live and to keep the hopes of those praying for her alive. Doctors treating her knew all along that her body had suffered extreme injuries and that she might not be able to make it. At 4:45AM (Singapore time) this morning, she succumbed to her injuries.

Nation grieves but will it start seeing and treating women any differently?

Read: BRUTAL GANGRAPE OF 23 YR OLD IN DELHI

Indian politicians, across all parties, continue to reflect a sick medieval mindset when it comes to issues affecting women. It’s appalling to listen to their outrageous views on women.

 [READ: Indian Netas and Gurus bash Women and Chinese Noodles]

January 8, 2012 - Chhattisgarh Home Minister(BJP) Nanki Ram Kanwar blamed positions of stars for rapes. Here is what he had to say - ”We have no answer to this rising spate of crimes against women. Stars are not in position. Harm can come on a person if the stars are in adverse positions…We have no answer to this, only an astrologer can predict.”

January 8, 2012 – SP Leader Abu Azmi joined in by suggesting, “Women should not venture out with men who are not relatives. What is the need for roaming at night with men who are not relatives? This should be stopped. Such incidents (like the Delhi gang-rape) happen due to influence of western culture.” He attributed the rise in rape cases to “women wearing less clothes.” (READ: Yes rapes take place only in Bharat not in India)

January 6, 2012 – Spiritual guru Asaram Bapu preached, “Only 5-6 people are not the culprits. The victim daughter is as guilty as her rapists… She should have called the culprits brothers and begged before them to stop… This could have saved her dignity and life. Can one hand clap? I don’t think so.”  (READ: Delhi gang-rape victim should have called rapists bother: Asaram Bapu)

January 2, 2012 – Mr. Mohan Bhagwat, RSS Chief has this to say - ”Crimes against women happening in urban India are shameful. It is a dangerous trend. But such crimes won’t happen in ‘Bharat’ or the rural areas of the country. You go to villages and forests of the country and there will be no such incidents of gang-rape or sex crimes.” (READ: Rapes occur in India not in Bharat)

January 1, 2012 – Mr. Kailash Vijayvargiya, Minister (MP) (BJP) joined the chorus to blame women for sexual violence against them - ”One has to abide by certain moral limits. If you cross this limit, you will be punished, just like Sita was abducted by Ravana,” he told reporters.

December 27, 2012 – Mr. Abhijit Mukherjee, Indian president Mr. Pranab Mukherjee’s son and a Congress MP from Jangipur (West Bengal) described women protestors against Delhi gangrape as “highly dented and painted”. “This is almost like the Pink Revolution. These women who are protesting have no contact with ground reality,” he said. “Those who are coming in the name of students in the rallies, sundori, sundori mahila (beautiful women), highly dented and painted. I have seen them speak on television, usually women of this age are not students,” he added.

Credit: NDTV

A country that has been mutely tolerating a woman get raped every 22 minutes, has finally woken up. There is a ray of hope in the candles burning at Jantra Mantra, India Gate, and other parts of the country. There is a promise in the slogans of young men and women who are demanding justice and safer India for women.

On December 16, 2012, a 23 year old paramedical student was barbarically gang-raped, beaten, and violated with an iron rod by six beasts for over 40 minutes in New Delhi, in a moving bus. She was then brutally thrown out the bus, in partial clothes. Bleeding and unconscious – left to die on the road side.

But the brave one battled for survival against all odds. She kept telling her mom that she wanted to live. She underwent multiple surgeries at Safdarjung hospital in Delhi, including one to remove her severely injured and infected intestine. As her condition worsened, she was airlifted to a Singapore hospital on December 27. Unfortunately, the move did no good. Despite her mental strength, she succumbed to her injuries, on December 29, 13 days after the incident.

Another girl, another fighter, another life gone – gone – hoping the candles with continue to burn till the justice is delivered.

Read: RAPE EPIDEMIC – ANOTHER YOUNG INDIAN WOMEN DIES

India is outraged at the heinous crime in the heart of Delhi, the power center of the country. People, especially students, are protesting peacefully demanding justice for her while the political class continues to display, shamelessly, its dumbness, insensitivity, and inaction.

On December 16, the victim along with her male friend was returning home after watching a film in Delhi. The duo boarded a Delhi Transport bus. The bus already had 6 occupants – all men and drunk. They started taunting the victim and her friend. When the girl objected, they attacked her – gang-raped and savagely assaulted her with an iron rod – for at least 40 long minutes as the bus continued to cut through Delhi roads freely. When her friend tried to defend her, he too was beaten up with the same iron rod. Both were then thrown out the bus in semi-conscious state and in partial clothes. A passerby alerted the police and the injured were rushed to Safdarjung hospital.

Delhi woke up to the shocking incident. Soon the anger erupted and exploded on the streets of the capital. Men and women, girls and boys, students and professionals took to Delhi streets demanding stricter laws to prevent violence against women, to hold authorities accountable, and to ensure speedy justice in such incidents.

Total inaction from government, and blame game between Delhi police, Delhi government, and Central government only intensified the protests.

On Dec 22, suddenly the protests took a violent turn. As the protesters tried to push through the barricades to move towards Rashtrapati Bhavan, police aimed water cannons at them, fired teargas, and resorted to brutal lathicharge. Some elements among protesters too resorted to violence – hurling stones at police, damaging parked vehicles in the area. Result – About 70 people got injured, some protesters got locked up, and the stir gradually calmed down.

The government and police had almost done it again – silenced the anger with heavy use of force. But on December 27 when the news spread that the condition of the victim had taken turn for worse and that she had been airlifted to Singapore, protesters were back with renewed demand for justice.

In between, political class made mockery of itself by making some derogatory, some utterly dumb comments, and some face saving promises. Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh addressed the nation to appeal for calm but ended up fueling the rage by ending his speech with “theek hai” (is that ok?). It was an apparent attempt to check with the cameramen if he was done and done well demonstrating that the speech wasn’t delivered from heart.

By December 28 evening, it was clear that the girl who had displayed unprecedented mental strength was losing the battle. She had suffered multiple organ failures and doctors were describing her state to be extremely critical. Prayers of billion plus nation had had no positive effect. She passed away at 4:45AM Singapore time on December 29.

Spontaneous protestors gathered at various cities across India, silently holding placards that read – “RIP Braveheart! Your death will not go in vain”.