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The Sounds of Silence

My Wandering Wednesday Series. Check the previous posts here.

11th September. It seems to be the day that turns the world around. 2001 saw four co-ordinated terrorist attacks on the WTC- USA. 2013, India, the world awaits the sentence for the four accused in the Nirbhaya Rape Case. There is anger, frustration, despair and hopelessness looming large. Not because ‘justice’ has not yet been served, but because she was NOT the only woman to suffer this horrendous fate. Since then, the newspapers have been filled with crimes against women, only on a rise. As I write this, some hundreds of women must be facing their demons right now. It gives me the shudders, why anyone should be more privileged than the other? We all belong to the same social fabric.

A photojournalist in Mumbai, a maid’s 9 year old daughter in Gurgaon, a college going girl in Guwahati…………when will this stop? When will the law be equal for all? When will the archaic system realize, amendments are needed as of last generation? If he can rape at 17, charge him for his deed, not for what his identity card certifies him to be – a juvenile! If the deterrents are effective at the grassroots  level, we won’t be waiting for a singular judgement to be the catharsis. It is not about being proved guilty, it is about educating a nation where men think they can get away with anything against a woman! It is not about the religious background or the political backing or the media hounding for a case in point. It is about having the right to live freely in a country that I am born in and belong to.

Let this be the beginning of a lesson to all men. Women are not real estate that can be grabbed, trespassed, sold or devalued. If we, truly, are a nation of ‘Satyamev Jayate’, then let truth prevail, today, henceforth. Speak now or forever hold your SILENCE.

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  The Sounds of Silence, An Inconvenient Truth

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11 responses to “The Sounds of Silence”

  1. Diwakar Narayan avatar
    Diwakar Narayan

    The sound of silence has long been suppressed, Vinita. It is high time we speak up.

    Reply
  2. blogwatig avatar
    blogwatig

    I totally agree Diwakar. And the first step begins not when a crime happens, but it begins when you know something is not right and still you won’t call it wrong, to its face.

    As a nation, we are guilty of being mute spectators.

    Reply
  3. Sfurti Juztamom avatar
    Sfurti Juztamom

    Sigh and true. It is about time the silence is broken, it is about time silence is not taken as yes..as weak..as a license. It is about time men learn and pass on the lessons to next generation.

    Reply
    1. blogwatig avatar
      blogwatig

      I think, we women equally need to pass on these lessons to the next generation. Our need is greater, hence our deeds should be too.

      Reply
  4. Rainbow Hues avatar
    Rainbow Hues

    Such strong words and what an apt picture. Truly we need to raise voice now as much as possible because the justice seems to be blind as well as deaf and we need a louder voice now.

    Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    1. blogwatig avatar
      blogwatig

      We need a whole lot more than just raising our voices. We need awareness. We need acceptance. We need understanding and we need self belief. God knows we need each other more than anything else…….

      Reply
  5. Roshni avatar
    Roshni

    I guess the solution at this point seems to be to make an example of these 4 men as to the implications of rape in Indian society, but now, I also worry about the repercussions. As you say, these crimes are now on a rise, and is every woman who has been harassed or brutally dealt with being given justice?

    Reply
    1. blogwatig avatar
      blogwatig

      If examples served as a reminder, reaching 1947 would have been the greatest lesson in history. People’s memory is short term. We need long term solutions, like law amendments and zero tolerance for disrespect of any form, to any gender.

      Reply
  6. subhorup avatar
    subhorup

    Not sure if I got all that you intended to convey with the title and the closing paragraph. The fact remains that for all attention that some cases get, there are countless others that go unpunished. The fact remains that rape conviction among the upper classes and the powerful is abysmally low. Some would have us believe that this is so because rapists have a profile, and is not something that the educated, wealthy or powerful do. Sadly, the proclivity to assert power over women, to view women as possessions does not respect culture, class or creed. We need to undo a couple of centuries of learning to address this fully. Punishment and improved policing are very important, but we have not been able to stop murders (or even mass murders, as evidenced by Obama walking in Bush’s footsteps) with the best of law and order. We need to look at the root of the problem, the gender politics that rears men who rape.

    Reply
    1. blogwatig avatar
      blogwatig

      You got it completely right Subho. Yes, the root of the problem is where we need to look. Snipping a few leaves of this deep rooted evil won’t do any of us any good.

      Reply
  7. Sriram avatar
    Sriram

    Somehow I have lost my faith in the voice of a mass. We are unable to find it in our self to lose a little humanity when we deal with monsters. We stare in the abyss but just when the abyss stares back we close our eyes.

    I remember writing that one day we will celebrate a Punisher like character who can stem the rot using any and every means possible. Quite a scary thought because I too would agree with such methods and probably celebrate brutal and violent justice.

    Reply

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