REMINDER: ONCE AGAIN

"She is a prostitute. It was a deal that went wrong."

"What was she doing so late at night with her boyfriend and why did they take an empty bus at that hour?"

"They were intoxicated and must have felt a sexual urge. They must have enjoyed."

"What was the need for the photojournalist to go to an isolated area with her male colleague?"

Four different incidents of rape at Park Street in Kolkata, Delhi, Kamduni in West Bengal's Barasat and Mumbai. Four different comments, which reflect a common sentiment. It shows how majority of the people, not only men but women, too, perceive rape and rape victims.

I was excited to see a Tahrir Square-like agitation in New Delhi last winter. THe spontaneous movement created a hope of change. We demanded that the rapists be hanged. We wanted a change in law to bring in provisions for stricter punishment, better policing, fast track courts. Though the laws have been amended, the trial of the Delhi rape case is still on. The agitation has died down and women continue to be raped in different parts of the country. After Mumbai gangrape, the issue has once again hit the headlines. It seems we are back to square one. 

Last December, when I had gone to interview a woman activist,she, on hearing about my excitementover the angry reaction, asked me, "Are they really reacting?"

Now I believe, no spontaneous or made-for-TV agitation or movement can bring down the number of rape incidents in the country. Neither any change of law nor better police patrolling can prevent rapes. Unless we change our mentality towards women and rape vistims, nothing can stop the menace. All administrative measures can work as a catalyst, bu the real change will have to come from within.

The problem is as long as the horror doesn't hit out near and dear ones, we brush it aside as others' problem and feel free to cast aspersions on the tape victims before anything is proved. We go off to sleep happily saying my daughter, my sister or my wife don't go out late at night. The society remains vulnerable.