Vanessa Kharbudon
I cannot keep quiet much longer. How can you? How can we all at what is happening inside our government edifices?
Our very own freaks gallivanting up and down our government halls should star in B-grade movies with warning labels such as, “explicit content: only for maniacs”. Apparently, our so called elected public servants forget that they are elected to serve the people in accordance with justice and equality bereft of any partisanship. They suffer from acute megalomania where they believe that they can bend, fold and twist the law of the land to do anything they want even rape, murder, loot and steal.
We should be mortified beyond tolerance when we have an ‘elected’ representative (elected fairly or otherwise, who’s to say?) occupying public office with access to governmental power and records with a sick taste for young girls and is not remorseful about it. Add to that, our society does not seem too bothered that this pervert is labelledhok (holy) by another dubious character with a divinity doctorate. Did he really sit down and study or did someone else do the heavy lifting?
A minor girl (below 18 years) was raped repeatedly by old and not so old men and she is labelled khynnah dakaid (promiscuous child) in social media. The law is clear that sex with minors is statutory rape. The question of consent does not arise. On that count itself, the perpetrators are guilty (see POSCO Act and U.N. conventions on protection against discrimination against sexual exploitation of persons, especially women and children).
Isn’t it obvious to all that the SI in charge of the case was transferred as a cover up measure? Let us not be in denial over terms like routine transfer and such drivel. It is absolutely pathetic and gross of our justice system to bend, fold and manipulate the law to suit twisted agendas. If it really is a routine transfer, then it is only fair that speedy justice be given to the victim and the former militant jailed severely. There can be no exoneration. If witnesses turn hostile and baloney such as ‘lack of evidence’ is parodied in news media, then it stands for all to see that the law and courts function in a bigoted and partisan way in Meghalaya. If this victim is silenced and threats are made to those seeking justice, then it is time we bring in international anti-human trafficking agencies who cannot be intimidated and bought so easily by the mafia and the political establishment here.
It is an open secret that human trafficking, under-age prostitution and pornography are thriving businesses here. As a society are we that credulous or is it just a case of “I don’t care because it doesn’t affect me?” How can we slap band-aids over our mouths when this evil has insidiously crawled its way into every layerof society?
Another cringe-worthy instance is the deplorable state of affairs surrounding our ex-governor who was unfortunately not caught with his pants down. That would have sealed the case for sure, or, would excuses have been made about it just being an accidental case of his pants’ elastic band snapping! As a society, we are shockingly producing debauched predators who sit in public offices and behave as deviant grandpapas assaulting their daughters and granddaughters (his terminology not mine). He most certainly is not our grandfather. Why is it that most men in any position of power feel that it is their male given right to take advantage of and pressure women into compromising situations? Pressure can mean a subtle approach at first, where the woman is led to believe that a promotion or job is only a kiss away. That moment is used to blackmail her into more X-rated situations. Some have a bad start (drop out, abusive parent, etc.) and this is capitalised and their vulnerabilities exploited.
Women are lured into the spider’s web with job promises and career deals that come with strings attached. Permit me to paint a scenario based on a real life situation. An unemployed educated woman was looking for a job. She was approached by someone connected to a politician who offered her a position fitting her skill sets. She gratefully accepted and goes about her work. Lo and behold! One day, she is summoned in to the boss’ office who tosses up a ‘work duty’. She is to travel with him – only after sunset – to do the work of his P.A. which she was not hired for in the first place, plus, said boss already has a government appointed P.A. She flatly refuses and an ultimatum is slapped. She is a single mother with little mouths to feed at home. Solutions anyone?
I am not in any way referencing adult people – male and female – who knowingly enter into such dalliances to either further their careers or otherwise. They make their choices with eyes wide open. This narrative is geared towards those who are betrayed, blackmailed, conned, duped, manipulated and pushed into shady corners and shadier situations by sick degenerates who make sure their baits are cleanly wrapped and innocently packaged in order to suck their victims into a cesspool of sleaze and filth. Some of our hotels and inns serve as dens where women are stripped of their dignity and self-worth and reduced to ‘tang ka mar’ (mere chattel). Some of what goes on is filmed and the footage used to solicit prostitution. Social media like Facebook, Watsapp group chats and other social networking sites are used to lure and dupe girls and boys into prostitution rings. Some are sent to other cities in a drugged state by the flesh cartel whose network resembles the tentacles of an octopus that slither beyond state lines and national boundaries. These flesh trade goondas have hired gangs on their pay roll who are given barking orders to bark (read threaten even at gun point) to maintain this heinous network.Oh! The evil carried on in small towns. That veneer of chaste small town mentality which acts as a barrier against exposure and justice.
How many naïve fifteen year olds have been deceived and manipulated into shack jobs for some pitiful old politician and bureaucrat? Not all do it willingly. Many have been trapped into this web in their gullible teen years and by the time they realise that this elderly, rich, powerful man has a wife and kids their age, their youth, self-esteem and belief in themselves has been intentionally robbed and crushed. Let us not feign ignorance at the way our society paints and treats ‘scarlet women’.
Do we not all dream dreams? Do we not envision a rosier picture for our children? Consider with me for a moment and really look around at the prevailing conditions in our state especially our villages. Reflect on their schools. Would you send your city privileged wards to them? Is it so difficult for us to identify with those dads and moms in the fields and thatch houses who dream of a better future for their children and families? Have we given thought to pre-teen girls (pimps’ and traffickers’ catch them young motto) obtained specifically from such conditions to service paying clients? How are they lured? Promises of a brighter future are painted to the families in rosy hues. Do you seriously believe that the girls sold into this trade have a rosy future? If they are rescued, they must then pick up and rebuild piece by painful piece of what is left. Imagine the psychological trauma. Consider the stigma and that too in such a vain, hypocritical society like ours where double standards have their own double standards.
Denials of wrong-doing by those in offices of power hold no weight because it is obvious to all that no action is taken as the acts continue. One woman after another was and is subjected to this humiliation, and don’t you dare say you were just allowing the legal bureaucratic processes to run their course because had it been your own flesh and blood, you surely would have skinned the sleaze-balls alive. Perhaps an experiment should be conducted whereby these politicians and the high and mighty brigade get a taste of their own filthy medicine. Maybe you will choose to do something till it pinches you in your own flesh because till date you know that this smut is happening but you choose to sweep it under the rug, cover it up and lie through your vampirous teeth.
As I write this piece, I can think of a few solutions that I hope will help create a few dents in this cartel. The need of the hour is to have frank and honest discussions with an educational tone on sex – safe and unsafe, all the avenues of sexual exploitation like underage prostitution, sex slavery, STDs, sexual abuse via cybercrime and the whole gamut of sexual exploitation at home and outside the domestic hearth inclusive of ‘good and bad touch’ lessons. All women need to understand that they have the absolute right to refuse sexual intercourse when it is unsafe (e.g. he refuses the condom) and that a legal suit can be slapped in cases of marital rape.The devastating effects of pornography should be discussed as one only has to google and come across a number of studies that have been done by psychologists, psychiatrists and even sex experts who are conclusive in their findings about the toxicity and debilitating effects of pornography specifically upon the individual’s mental health and family life. The scope of this educational operation should touch legal matters like age of consent, statutory rape, legal procedures and so on. Sexual harassment in the workplace can no longer be given cursory attention.These kinds of projects should be conducted everywhere especially in educational institutions, workplaces and our rural belt ideally with the cooperation of the dorbar shnong.
The times we are in warrant CCTV cameras to be installed strategically inside workplaces, public hallways and outside the doors of office rooms with strict policies on footage deletion or misplacement. Every place of employment – government and private – should have detailed manuals on sexual harassmentwith complete sections on the necessary protocols to be initiated when sexual violence has taken place. This is imperative and should not in any way contain any ‘customary practise’ where victims are pressured to make a compromise with the predator. How about creating easy access phone numbers for distress calls similar to 100 or 911 specifically for sexual abuse and rape? This can include medical cells. It should be mandatory for female doctors to examine female victims and vice versa. Incase of a minor, the parent or guardian should be present. The medical reports should be photographed, photo-copied and attested as a means to stop tampering and falsifying things. Sheesh! You should be ashamed of yourselves those of you who have done this. A counsellor should be available as a support system to the victim. Any doctor who tiptoes like a scared amputated squirrel on this matter should also be prosecuted.
By the way, sexual abuse and harassment encompasses the male of our species too. Instances abound in our society where boys get molested in school by their teachers and by servants or relatives at home. I have heard of many horror stories concerning altar boys…..(fill in the blanks). Then we have false charges of assault or rape when a relationship ends and an FIR is slapped on the man out of spite and vengefulness. Ladies, you know exactly what I am referring to, and that, my sisters, is very wrong.
I am appealing to all the victims and their families to come out into the open and demand unconditional justice and for society to confront this vile, beastly atrocity. Let us refuse to hide under that flimsy hypocritical cloak of burom briew (respectability) and kiew ïngsaw(courthouse). Our Khasi-Pnar respectability is fast crumbling to pieces. When justice is skewed to serve the criminals, how can there be respect? The affected women apropos the Governor’s case have yet to lodge formal complaints. This silence is helping the enemy. I beseech all the grandmothers and grandfathers, mothers and fathers out there to remove that bandage fastened over your mouths, to lend support to the victims, to stand up and fight for the future of womanhood in our state. I feel it is time for all those who have been sexually abused in any manner, shape or form to come out in to the streets and march for justice. Let us all walk with our heads held high and let society see the magnitude of sexual violence. When political pressure is applied to the police department to keep mum, hence curtailing investigations, the victims should be encouraged to come forward and shame these sick perverts publicly. Their pictures splashed over news outlets and social media. Create a hue and cry. Refuse to be silent. Know that you have done nothing wrong. You are not guilty.There is power in a united front. Let the people unite. If not now, when?
I cannot get away from typing this next passage. I tried but could not, only because the church still wields considerable influence in these hills.
The church is the compass of morality and the voice of what is right and wrong. Why are you eerily quiet about this pernicious evil? Why are you crying foul and labelling the victims as immoral and blaming the media and technology? Is it because you are somehow involved? Is it because you are absolutely terrified of losing any ‘funding’ and ‘donation’? Is it because many within your ranks are shackled by the chains of pornography and promiscuity? If you are dining and mingling with those who have sold their soul to power and money, then I am afraid that evil stench has seeped in and thus we have a religious casket – dead religion. Your sanctimonious displays of form and ritual, the cringe-worthy double standards and the contradictory stance on current life issues is one of the main reasons for your increasing irrelevance and going by official estimates, Meghalaya ranks second in the number of atheists in the country. You have the authority and the influence to stand for what is right. Why are you giving way to the powers that be to threaten, blackmail, twist and silence your truth? Is there a dearth of leadership to pave the way in fighting this devastation to family and society? Could we have a show of hands say in the awareness project mentioned above?
I leave with this parting shot: most of the time the church has always chosen the ignorance and silent route on subjects that hurt humanity – be it human slavery, racism, women’s rights, casteism, gender exploitation, sex slavery. You still have that voice, use it now before it is snuffed out and you become irrelevant altogether.
( The author is a content writer for a mental health company)