Train rape victim died
A woman who was allegedly pushed down from a running train and raped last week in Kerala died in a hospital in Thrissur on Sunday. The 23-year-old woman, who was the lone passenger in the compartment reserved for ladies, was pushed out of the train after she resisted a robbery attempt. The attacker jumped out of the train and raped her on the railway tracks. He then fled with her bag and mobile phone. According to police, the woman was found lying unconscious with serious head injuries on the tracks between Vallathol Nagar and Shornur Railway station at 9.30 pm on February 1.The woman who worked in a private firm in Kochi, was returning home in connection with a marriage proposal when she was raped. Govindaswamy, the man who allegedly pushed her down from the the women's compartment of Ernakulam-Shonur passenger train, was arrested by the Police. He belongs to the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu.
This piece of news should have shocked every reader and induced an impulse in him/her to dial the phone to make sure their daughter/sister/wife/mother who are living away is safe.
Why ???????
Man who is considered to be the most developed animal on earth is the only creature that commits sex forcefully. Indian culture teaches to respect woman as Mother Goddess. She is the one who keeps the child in her body and brings to the bright world of reality with enough health and wisdom to survive. A part of the births, the masculine, rages on her and disgraces her sanctity to satisfy his carnal desire and pleasure. What a shame!. The common thread that binds nearly all seems to be that males are willing to abandon all sense and decorum, even to risk their partners’ or co-livings’ lives, in the frantic quest for sex.
Rape is a serious social issue in any society. It reflects the overall mindset of a society towards women. When one hears cases of rape and violence toward women in any place he will say that the particular place is unsafe and the women at such places are vulnerable. It is the weaker who are easy targets of such heinous crime and always gets victimized while the powerful inflicts the injury and gets away. How can we feel proud to be Real Indians when we cannot address such heart-wrenching social issues? Most of the time we give excuses that the incident that took place was unfortunate and it could have been avoided if the woman were not at that place or if she should have come from the place early. All these excuses prove that we are cowards as we have no guts and responsibility to make our society free from insecurity and vulnerability. Our polices’ version is that they cannot protect each and everyone in this populated country and confess themselves to be white elephants. Then what is the use, utility and significance of police, law and order, judiciary, social justice etc. The blame game goes on and ends up getting no solution to these grave problems of our society and the news of rape and violence keep coming on the media.
If women today are to protect themselves from rape, and men are to desist from it, people must be given advice that is based on knowledge. The fact is that men, relative to women, are more aggressive, sexually assertive and eager to copulate, and less discriminating about mates' traits that contribute to the existence of rape. The reason for this is that from much early times women are always blamed as the inducement factor. To understand the impact of sexual harassment on women one must listen to the account of its victims as no one conveys the meaning and truth of sexual harassment better than the women who have endured it. A great deal of cynicism exists regarding police action. Women say that even when they have gone ahead to complain to the police nothing has been done about it
The psychological pain that rape victims and their close ones suffer must set the mind and body of the rest of the population to react against all ill activities against women especially the system which controls transportation without introducing any safety measure and make them evolve effective defense against rape. The women who outré produced others and thus became the creators are those who are highly distressed about rape. Governments and foolish ministers who pronounce compensation to the victim’s parents taking that money can ease and rub off all blemishes have even gone to the extent of comparing rapes as simple and enjoyable sport like drinking a cup of coffee. They count loss of a beloved daughter/mother/sister/wife and the most condemnable abuse to her in terms of money. Could the whole wealth of India compensate their agony and the disgrace done to the women by the antisocial elements? Family and parents have no way of ensuring the safety of their womenfolk except by keeping them indoors. Considerable anxiety is suffered by the relatives of the female being molested due to the social stigma associated with the harassment as it opens the family up for public ridicule.
A society’s well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires that all have opportunities to improve or maintain their well being. Unfortunately women who constitute almost half of the society still do not have the ability to maintain their well-being because they constantly face harassment from men at each space which they occupy with them. It is an established fact that women are sexually harassed on the street, in homes and in workplaces even though there are a plethora of acts and legislations to protect them. Yet in spite of these acts these incidents continue to occur. Even when complaints lodged against the aggressor, either at the sexual harassment committees or with the police, it is always the women who have to prove that the crime occurred and that they are the victims of the crime, which is highly humiliating as it involves providing graphic details of the incident. Since the process is a long drawn one that completely drains out the energy of the complainant, most women prefer to suffer in silence or to grin and bear. If the perpetrator of the crime happens to be a well-heeled or a reputed person the situation is even worse as it can even be labeled as libel or slander if the victim is not able to prove the crime.
The definition does not include only the extreme case of rape but all forms of sexual humiliation which could mean just some provocative remark, indecent posturing in a public area towards women or physical assault. Groping and manhandling of women in public places is an oft repeated crime which goes largely unremarked. The reasons behind the occurrence of these harassments are manifold. One of the fact is that there is an absence of a precise definition of what constitutes harassment means that in many cases the victims are afraid of going to the concerned authorities thinking that they don't have a strong case until it is too late to do much about it, or may have to undergo even higher levels of harassment from the officials to whom the matter is to be reported. Just as a part of the official work they go to the extent of asking the victims to describe their private body parts where and how the perpetrators harassed. This lax behavior of law enforcement agencies also play an indirect role in that it sets the precedent that people who commit crimes will most likely not be held accountable for their actions. Weak law enforcement institutions therefore worsen the plight of women as they cannot provide safeguards that prevent the occurrence of crime against women. But the main reason why some individuals or some families are targeted and not others is due to the balance of social, economic and political power not being in their favor.
The inexcusable delay and absence of punishment that coincides with the level of assault that has taken place further impedes effective decision making. Red tapes that results in cases being buried for many years before they are bought up, high lawyers' fees, the humiliating questions asked by the perpetrators counsel and more importantly the lack of power and means to disprove the perpetrators claim in court that the act was consensual and not forced, further prevent the victim's family members from raising a voice and asking for justice. This social malaise has a particular disruptive impact on society leaving families irrevocably scarred for life in most cases. The psychological pressure suffered by the victim and the family members due to loss of reputation has driven them to abandon their villages and communities.
The harassment, since it is usually carried out by individuals associated with powerful underground gangs better known as mafia is met with little resistance by the members of the community. (The ruling parties too…!! Ice-creams are tasty.!!!).The fear that these local gangs inspire amongst the local people provides them the immunity to assault women without fear of retaliation from the community.
Active participation by the members of the civil society is the best long term solution to end this social evil. Safeguards can be successful only if the members of the community decide to personally ensure that they are upheld. The problem of harassment can be sorted out only if the public, authorities and the police work together in tackling it.
Crowded trains and buses are perfect breeding grounds for antisocial behavior. Some men use this opportunity to touch or pinch the female passengers standing close to them. If this happens to you, make a fuss. Point at the offender and chastise him in a loud voice. Here the co-passengers should act as impulsively as they do if their own mother or sister is the victim. He could probably be slunk away or caught and handed over to law enforcing system. However, to avoid these types of advances from the perpetrator again, use this excellent opportunity to communicate with local women and their children so that they could identify him afterwards also.
Pepper spray, should be used in self defense against these human attackers if there is no other chance to escape. This results in major tearing of the eyes, temporary blindness, and breathing restriction. Sprayed into an attacker's face, pepper spray is an excellent self defense product - the attacker will be incapacitated long enough for the women to get away or get help. And the effects are not long lasting; one needn’t worry that she has caused damage as you could with mace or tear gas. Government should provide pepper spray aerosol at a subsidized rate enabling the common women afford it.
Be sure to check local law enforcement agency to make sure that carrying pepper spray is legal in your state or community. Always store pepper spray where children cannot have access to the spray bottle or any leftover mixture.
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