Dr Ketaki discusses the issue of rape and violence against women, highlighting historical accounts and societal changes needed to protect women, exclusively for Different Truths.
Incidents of rape or dishonouring women are nothing new. In the epics, especially in The Mahabharat, we find several mentions of it and even in Shakespeare’s narrative poem, The Rape of Lucrece, the heinous incident was described elaborately: “Here with a cockatrice’ dead-killing eye/He rouseth up himself and makes a pause;/While she, the picture of pure piety,/ Like a white hind under the gripe’s sharp claws/Pleads, in a wilderness where are no laws,/To the rough beast that knows no gentle right,/Nor aught obeys but his foul appetite.” (cf. Complete Works of Shakespeare: Macmillan, London, 1961, lines 540–7). When Sextus Tarquinius was going to ravage the chastity of Lucrece, married to Collatine, the word ‘rape’ kept groping for its definition.
What is rape? Even a boy of seven knows these days. Rape is the outraging of the virginity/chastity of a woman by a man without her consent. But what if the woman is compelled to lose her virginity/chastity by her husband’s friend or her own? Or what if the woman is hemmed in by hooligans and gang-raped? How can a woman be saved from all these untoward plights? These days, a solution is doing the rounds: if a woman knows self-saving martial tactics, she may prevent such unfortunate incidents from ensuing.
Gang Rape
But any sentient human being is aware of the capability of a single woman, encircled by five or six predators! She may try all tactics of flying kicks, throwing the miscreants by their arms on the ground, and even punching their lustful faces. But can she handle all six at the same time? On the silver screen, every move is possible to reach a dream finale, kicking off all of them beyond the arena. But in real life, that can hardly happen on a wider scale, even in the case of a black belt-winning karate aficionado. I may sound inane, but reality proves this.
Not just in India but in different parts of the world, women have fallen victim to the lust of men and got raped eventually, since different civilisations came to stay. And the recent trend of these wrongdoers is to murder a woman after raping her so that her voice is gagged forever and they can get away with the crime without any intervention or verifiable proof. Even if they are jailed, they may go scot-free.
Following the rape and murder case at Unnao U.P., the rape and murder of a medical practitioner in Bangalore, and a few other sad incidents at different corners of our country, the people of Kolkata, West Bengal, were horrified to witness the rape and murder case in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a renowned medical institution, which can take pride in the alumnae, scattered across the globe.
Lady Doctor Raped
The former officer-in-charge of Tala P.S. and the former principal of RG Kar Medical College are still incarcerated for valid reasons. Queues of the public went to protest rallies almost every night following the incident on the 9th of August this year, demanding justice. The Junior Doctors went fasting for days, clamouring for justice. And now, as the hearings are on, we are waiting with bated breath for impartialjustice to be meted out.
A lady doctor, 31 years of age, a second-year PGT from the Chest Medicine Department hailing from a middle-class background, had been heinously murdered and raped while she was having respite after a 36-hour-long stint in the hospital. Several snippets of analyses and criticism are in the air, and as the case is sub judice, the journalists are not free to say anything with conviction. An arrest has been made, and the hearings are on at Sealdah Court. The former Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud, had dealt with the case till his term quite adroitly.
A pall of gloom has veiled the face of this metropolis, though the waves of protest have reached the nooks and corners of the whole nation, including the not-so-developed hamlets in remote corners. The parents of the only doctor-daughter are shell-shocked, shedding tears for justice. Why did all the citizens take to the road looking for proper justice? The reason is not far to seek.
If the echelons of society (medical students are the best-thinking minds serving our society) can be victims of such mindless, denigrating, nerve-shattering deeds, then what will be the fate of the ordinary women, who either know the three R’s, stay in remote villages, or are educated formally, hitting the streets of a city every day with a liberal mindset?
Corruption and Collusions
Corruption at all levels is to be stopped; collusions in educational institutions should not be indulged or practiced; kindness, humility, and all such sterling qualities are to be learnt from the primary level; consumption of alcohol and narcotics is to be monitored by responsible authorities; security has to be beefed up in all institutions, especially where night shifts are in practice, so on, so forth. Are they feasible to apply? Let us think again—think twice, thrice, umpteen times!
Picture design by Anumita Roy
Dr Ketaki Datta (Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor with Goenka College (Govt), Kolkata. She is a novelist, columnist, poet, reviewer, translator, editor with several books to her credit. At present, she is a book reviewer with Muse India, Hyderabad and Compulsive Reader, Australia. She is a columnist with Different Truths, a noted weekly online journal of contemporary times.
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