Welcome to the Rape Culture...

“Earlier if men and women would hold hands, they would get caught by parents and reprimanded but now everything is so open. It’s like an open market with open options. Rapes happen because men and women interact freely.” - Mamata Banerjee, All India Trinamool Congress founder and Chief Minister of West Bengal

“If we go into the details of rape cases and abductions, it is found that victims and accused in 90% of cases are runaway couples. So the cases are consensual” - Dharamvir Goyat, Haryana Pradesh Congress committee member

“Just because the country attained independence at midnight, is it proper for women moving at midnight? women should consider the timing and conditions while going out late. They should ensure that there is adequate number of passengers while boarding a private bus,” - Botcha Satyanarayana, Andhra Pradesh Congress Party leader

“Rapes take place also because of a woman’s clothes, her behaviour and her presence at inappropriate places.” - Asha Mirje, Nationalist Congress Party leader

“If a woman is caught (in a rape case), then both she and the boy should be punished. In India, there is death penalty for rape, but when there’s consensual sex outside marriage, there’s no death penalty against women.” - Abu Azmi, Samajwadi Party leader and member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly

“This is a social crime which depends on men and women. Sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong.” - Babulal Gaur, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and ex-Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh

These are the political leaders and ministers elected by our so-called literate society, the people who represent us!

It's so shameful that in India rape is being normalized and stated as consensual. Women are blamed for getting raped because they go out at midnight, wear clothes of their own choice and make friends of the opposite sex.

WELCOME TO THE RAPE CULTURE IN INDIA!!!

We got this thinking from our tradition, that boys are superior and girls are inferior. People consider women not as an individual but as an object which can be possessed. The accused is safeguarded and the victim is blamed. Sometimes the accused gets away with the crime due to his superiority whether it is financial, political or he is from a higher caste.

Sometimes these rapes are political, for taking revenge or sometimes a fight or feud is settled by raping their mothers, wives or sisters. In some states, rape is considered as consensual, that if a boy raped a girl, the girl gave permission! 

Women are considered to be the honour of a family and that it's their responsibility to safeguard the family's honour. If a woman reports sexual abuse, she is considered to be shameless and people think that she doesn't care for her family's honour. The victim has to fight a lonely battle against the world for justice, which is too not delivered timely.

According to NCRB 2015 statistics, Madhya Pradesh has the highest raw number of rape reports among Indian states, while Jodhpur has the highest per capita rate of rape reports in cities. Experts say that a woman is raped in India every 16 minutes. India thus has been dubbed "the most dangerous country for women" by many human rights activists.

Every day we get to hear that a woman got raped, a child was sexually abused and killed, but we never say that a boy raped a girl, a man molested a woman.

Why we are so prejudiced against women?

Why we don't teach our sons not to behave like animals?

Why we restrict the activities of women even in the 21st century?

Why we blame girls for getting raped?!!!

Why we use the slogan "Beti Bachao Beti Padhao" and not "Bete ko sikhao aur agar nahi maane to do thappad lagao"?

Previously people used to kill girl child because they wanted a boy, but now they would kill them because when they grow up, they would get raped!!

People say that girls get raped because they get out of the house, but there are thousands of cases where a relative or a family member assaulted a girl. Thousands of cases are not registered because of shame. Usually, the woman is killed after being raped but if somehow she lives, the world becomes a miserable place to live. 

In today's world where we have quick access to the internet and social media, people show their support for the victims and hatred for these crimes easily on these platforms but this is not enough. We can't change the world, but we can change the people around us. A small step every day by everyone equals to a big leap.

People ask when would this stop or when would this world be safe for women,

But we won't get an answer until and unless we fight to get it!!