By HH Mohrmen
While rape cases were reported in the media on a regular basis, a politician who had disappeared from the radar screen of state politics for many years, all of a sudden appeared on the political horizon to file a PIL against the government. My first impression is that at least the PIL will pressure the government to act on many rape cases which have been reported from all over the state. I did not expect, that the person who filed the PIL would strike a quid pro quo with the government to withdraw his case. If a case is still open to withdrawal then why bother filing a PIL at all? What Kharshiing needs to understand is that while for him the case is open to bargain, but for the victim(s), there is no choice at all.
It is a matter of shame that there are regular reports in the media of rape being committed in almost every corner of the state. It is also a matter of grave concern that in many cases rape victims were minor as young as 3 years old and there were even cases of incest which is a taboo in the society. This only proves that rape can happen irrespective of whether it is urban or rural areas. The recent reports which have appeared in the press has also shattered the common belief that rape victims are responsible for inviting trouble upon themselves. It was often concluded that women/children are themselves responsible for what has happened to them. Some, particularly men, blame women for inviting men to rape them from the way they dress, at time even imposing a dress code for women. But the question is how can we blame rape victims for the crime committed against them? Male chauvinists complain that nowadays women, particularly young girls dress rather irresponsibly and shabbily and that tempted men to rape them, but the pertinent question is how would a 3 year or for that matter a 7 or 12 years old girl dress that they would not attract rape? How would they dress so that maniacs in the society would not attack them? Rape happened not because of the way women dress or do not dress; but it happened because there are men who are not able to control themselves and that is a problem.
The increase in crime against women makes people wonder why and how this could happen in the matrilineal society of Meghalaya? May be it is true that in the past, victims or their families avoided reporting rape cases because of the fear of stigma that is attached to rape victims. It could also be true that in many rape cases, the culprit involved is often a person who is close to the victim or in many cases person who are relatives, hence rape cases were hushed up without considering the long-term effects that it could have on the victims. By not reporting and compromising with rape we don’t realize the kind of message that we convey to the community when we try to cover up rape cases. But now people are proactive and are not ashamed of reporting rape cases.
There were many cases where even communities take the law in their hand and decide on rape cases at the local level. It is the duty of the government to capacitate the local dorbar and enable them to distinguish between crime that needs to be handed over to the law agency and those that can be tackled by the dorbar shnong. Rape like murder is a crime and it is a matter beyond the purview of the dorbar shnong hence the community should take due course of action by reporting rape cases to the agency responsible for keeping law and order. There were instances when at the behest of the local dorbar the parties were asked to compromise the case and the couple were even advised to enter into marriage in spite of the fact that a crime was committed and the dorbar shnong does not even know that it is the duty of the dorbar to see that the law takes its own course.
The other reason that could be the cause of the increase in crime against women is that people have only read in the press about rape cases being reported on a daily basis but they seldom read anywhere of rapist being prosecuted and the kind of punishment that a person involved in the crime is given. It is true that in spite of all claims that rape cases particularly those involving minor victims has been transferred to the fast track court but one is yet to hear of court delivering verdicts on any rape case. Isn’t it a case of the prosecution department failing the victim(s), the Constitution and the people it is supposed to protect? If that is not the case then why do courts take so long to give verdict on many pending rape cases in the state? There was a case which involved a minor victim and was transferred to the fast track court in Jowai but not only is the accused allowed to walk scot-free, but the case is still pending in the court for more than one year now. The question is how fast can the supposedly fast track court take to deal with this case. If this is how we deal with rape cases, it is not only a case of ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ but more importantly what kind of message do we convey to the society at large and a rapist on the prowl in particular.
The reported matter of re-instating the police officer accused of having connection in a rape case when the matter is still pending in the court is also going to do more harm than good not only to the case but we are also sending a wrong message to the society.
I have recently visited a 7- year-old rape victim who as innocent as she should be and was oblivious of what has just happened to her. I wish that she remains desensitised to the unfortunate incident that had happened to her but everybody knows the stigma that she has to carry when she grows up. This is the drawback of living in a small village, where everybody knows each other. I am very much concerned about the environment that the young girl will grow up in. How can we make the society respect her dignity and make sure her playmates do not call her names? The government’s monetary support would surely be of great help for any rape victim, but what about the victim’s psychological needs? Does the government have anything in place to deal with the mental trauma the victim and her family faces?
The Childline team from Jowai along with two interns from the Bachelor of Social Works (BSW) of Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU) arrived at the victim’s family residence before I did and they promised support and even planned to provide counselling for both the parents and the victims in due course of time but this is because the victim is a child. What happens if the rape victim is no longer a minor? Does the government have any system in place to provide psychological support to the rape victim? What about the community at large? How can we ensure that they give due respect to the rape victim and give her the much needed psychological and societal support.
Crime against women has reached its nadir in the state; we must do something to stop this madness. The entire community needs to work together to stop this insanity. We must teach our youngster to treat women and girls with respect. We must use every available platform be it the church, the community or NGOs to make people aware that rape is a crime against humanity. We need to create awareness at the local level that even eve teasing and voyeurism is a crime. We need to speak out against the menace called crime against women. And I wish Robert Khashiing sticks to his guns and does not withdraw his PIL to ensure that justice is granted to the rape victims in the state, otherwise it is a case of playing politics with rape cases.