The Bandipora Rape case is one more heart-wrenching abuseand form of extreme violence against a female child barely three years old. Theincident has tarnished our existence again as has such previous cases. Thehorror took place in a beautiful part of Malik Pora of Trehgam Village ofBandipora. After one more sleepless night that such violence gives me, I wenton to meet the family. I wanted to sharethe little amount of their grief and show my solidarity to them for reportingthis crime in a society where crimes against women and children are preferredto be pushed under the carpet to save so-called honour of family or community.Though I was not courageous enough to meet the baby and her mother but, Ienquired about their wellbeing from other members of the family. I was toldthat the baby is not even three years old but is liveliest and she even in painand unaware of the meaning of the crime, insisted on complaining to her fatherabout the horror that Moba Baya unleashed on her after giving her chewing-gumsand taking her to the bathroom. The family members also told me that the abuserwas just like their family member and the two families live not even two yardsaway from each other and were like one extended family. However, the women inthat room confirmed that the man is a paedophile and is known to have molestedvarious other children too.
The past couple of ormore years have rocked the Indo-Pak region with surfacing of such terror casesmostly against women of any age, religious belief, income group, or ethnicbackground. However, the studies suggest that Rape cases might be acceleratingwith time but are not a new phenomenon. The violence against women is deeplyexistent in society, and sexual assault is its extreme manifestation. Theviolence, to my mind, is sustaining majorly through the tabooing of itsreporting. However, the public anger in most of the cases in the recent pastindicates that our society is becoming sensitised against the crime and comingin open support of the victim, demanding justice and exemplary punishments forthe abuser shows that.
I want to go a little deeper into the problem and highlighta couple or three concerns here. Firstly, there is enough evidence availablethat suggests that our society is today clutched by a culture that they looselydescribe as rape culture. This means the normalisation of violence againstwomen and children through the process of justifying abuse, unchecked abuse ofpower, elevated sense of entitlement and on the pretext of honour. Apart fromthis, the mode of total denial in every case is going to head us towards thedisaster. Even, case after case we still have no proper mechanism to curb thecrime leave alone victim shaming. Logically, the crime should confine thepredator but what happens is that confinements are brought with multipleunknown burdens to the victim of the violence.
Therefore, if something of utmost importance is requiredhere is introspection, multi-layered introspection of the nation. What is itthat families, individuals, communities are inflicted with this kind of pain?It is simply that as a Nation, regardless of our religious belief, sectarianaffiliation or ideological inclination and gender orientation, we are stillunable to fully acknowledge the crime and its roots in and effects on oursociety. We are yet to decide that if wewant to be intolerant of violence against marginal groups and make safety anddignity of all groups, question of our national honour. No one can deny that inthis conflicted region the cases of abuse, rape and molestation have hierarchyand are not condemned with equal disgust. The violence that starts from thefeticide, abandonment of girl child by fathers, disowning of a daughter in lawsand even dissolution of marriages for bearing girl child, denying right toeducation and training and right to property, instances of domestic violenceand precisely, dehumanising and demeaning the life of a woman. The violenceinflicted from the state and other political and non-political actors is even beyondthe extent of this piece.
The other issue that grabbed attention in the case ofTrehgam Rape of a minor is that of the sectarian angle. I believe behavingsectarian is undesirable and against the concept of justice but studying it isgiving the consideration to the facts. Instead of denying its existence, itsnuances have to be understood, as it continually shapes our society and socialrelation.
The anxiety issubstantiated by the denial of space, identity-based discrimination, almostnon-existent dialogue and constant othering and stereotyping of the community.The sense of belongingness and security is diminishing day by day that is aidedby the events unleashing on the international level.
Don’t limit this mode of protest only to the demandingpunishment for the culprit of the Trehgam Rape case but make it a broadermovement for the protection of women, children and marginal of any background.The violence against women and children is rising alarmingly; therefore, let’snot be selective but address this issue in its broader perspective. The similardistastefulness, anger and intolerance should be shown to every predator evenwithin the community. The protests are not enough, the eradication of thementality that might make the life of the baby miserable afterwards has to betaken up.
(The author is a columnist and scholar of InternationalStudies and Islamic Studies and Woman and Child Rights Activist)