WOMEN’S CORNER
Whom can we trust? Not safe around stranger men, not safe around known men, not safe around unknown women, not safe around known women. No these aren’t just assumptions; they are how we all feel. They are the conclusions we came to, after undergoing so much.
Some events which made us feel like this place and these people are not safe for us are explained below.
Wanted to be a friend, not a victim – @Bihar
A minor was raped by her online friends in Bihar. On 16 March, a 16-year-old girl who made friends with a guy online planned on meeting him. The girl and the guy were Facebook friends and planned to meet on the 16th of March. The minor girl without informing her parents had gone to meet the guy who was there with two of their friends. The three accused were from Dhoraiya and were all the girl’s friends on social media. The girl was forced and the three raped her on the night of 16 March.
Was raped in the same place I was taught about consent – @West Bengal
A girl was playing with her friends in their school and was allegedly dragged into a hell hole by the village’s youth. On the 18th of March, a 6th-class girl from West Bengal’s Malda district was at her school as usual. The incident took place on Saturday, which was supposed to be a holiday but as the students didn’t know about it had attended school. They were later acknowledged about the holidays following which some left and the others stayed back to play.
A 12-year-old girl studying in class 6 also stayed back with her friends to play in the school, all the students were playing on the ground floor but the girl and her friend moved on to the first floor of the school. On the first floor were three youths who had come into the school by climbing the wall, not knowing which, the girls had come up to play. The victim was left alone after which the three accused allegedly gang-raped the girl. The issue wasn’t known until the friend of the girl reached out to the girl’s mother and revealed what had happened after which the girl also opened up about it and then lodged a complaint.
Something common about both the above-mentioned issues is that the victims are both minors. In the second issue, the victim is a friend of one of the accused’s sisters.
No factor can change the way a girl is viewed in some eyes. In both issues, the victims were at places they could’ve avoided but that doesn’t put them at fault or that doesn’t make them any less than victims. And yes, the accused are arrested but is it stopping these from happening? No so how will they stop? When will they stop?