I was changing channels on TV, when a song came up, the video showed that a woman is raped in front of her husband and in the end she commits suicide.
That unfortunately is such a common scene depicted in movies and serials that it has been ingrained in our minds that the only option for a rape victim is to commit suicide.
She has been shamed and is not acceptable anymore in society and that is what she must do.
But why, why should she be the one who feels that she has wronged, whose life must end – when she is the victim, she is the one who has been abused, while the guilty goes scot-free, and probably finds another victim.
Recently, a newspaper published a report stating that every 54 minutes a woman is raped in Nepal, I was shocked by these statistics. How is it even possible, we hardly hear of rape cases, a few are reported here and there, and than statistics like this come out, shouting out the truth, it makes you question everything you thought and believed about safety and security in our country in our homes for women.
After awhile it sinks in and it is crystal clear, these cases never come to the forefront, girls don’t report them, cause if they do, they will be ostracized and disgraced by society – You and me.
Are just stricter laws the answer, is it going to make the problem go away.
But then for a problem to be solved, doesn’t one first need to realise that there is a problem that needs to be tackled with.
When this is an issue that most women will not dare to talk about, as she very well knows the consequences of it, living in a society as conservative and closed minded as ours about it, how do you even confront it, when everyone acts like it does not even exist.
The physical and psychological trauma a victim goes through, as horrendous as it is, not being able to talk about it and living through the ‘guilt’ of it all, for no fault of hers, how terrible must that be.
Just imagine the hundreds of women who must have gone through this ordeal, suffering silently, all by herself, cause she has no one to turn to, hide it forever and think that she has sinned, must be difficult going through life everyday with those thoughts gnawing at you.
When she does not even speak about it, when she thinks she is the one who has sinned, how can we expect the rapists to be punished, for her to ever get justice, for her to feel some consolation atleast.
But than if a woman did decide to speak out would society really accept her. Would people really within themselves be able to accept her as any other person, as she was before she faced such a terrible thing.
Would they think twice before being associated with someone like her, would they invite her to join their circle of friends?
Would people look at her just like any other person, not with pity or sympathy every times she walks by, cause maybe that is not what she is looking for, maybe all she wants is to lead a life of dignity.
There have been girls who have reported these cases, and many many others who have held back, because society has biases towards her.
If another girl decides to speak out and wants to lead a normal life after that, would you really give her a chance to be just a girl, without the tag of ‘rape victim’ looming over her for life?
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