I Think: The man rapes her once, but the society rapes her over and over again
Namita Jain, homemaker, Ahmedabad
I don’t understand what men get out of raping four-year-olds. They do it either to harass the children, or to get revenge against the families of the children. But attacking girls is more intolerable to the family. Kyunki kaun karega fir uss ladki se shaadi? Who will marry the girl after that?
The media people put salt-and-chilli on the situation. They report stories of rape. They sympathise on screen for one day for TRP. The next day, it’s over.
I would not hesitate to say that girls must dress decently in public. Ultimately, the girls have much more to lose. Girls must dress properly even at home. Short dresses don’t make you modern.
I also think parents need to learn how to handle situations of rape properly. Parents should step up and tell their daughters: we are with you. But scared of the society, scared of our relatives, we kill the girl even more.
The man rapes her once, but then the society rapes her over and over again.
If I were a reporter, I would not talk about how the rape happened. I would talk about why rape is happening.
Instead of projecting rape as this ultimate destroyer of a woman’s life, the media should try and change the way the family and society perceive rape.
They should try and change how we react to news of rape and rape victims. Only the media can do this.
