Happy New Year Sister..

I was reading a news paper report of the uber rape victim in Delhi, speaking up about the incident. She laments that in spite of the hue and cry made all over the country after the Nirbhaya case, nothing much has changed. And it is indeed ironic that the driver threatened to use an iron rod on her!

She has returned to work and she says her office and her colleagues have been supportive. I really admire her courage to report the incident immediately after such a traumatic experience and her spirit to stand up to rape. Many people had commented on this article. Many admired her and her family’s courage and spirit. Many were blaming the government, politicians, migrant workers, humanity and many other things. Many said they support her and sympathize with her.

But do we really? It’s very easy to ‘support’ and empathize within the anonymous confines of a virtual world. How will I treat my colleague when she returns to work? Will I go out on a date with a girl after knowing she was once raped? Or will I seriously consider a proposal for alliance from such a girl that comes to me through the great Indian institution of arranged marriage?

It’s extremely necessary to prevent such heinous crimes. It’s equally human and our responsibility to respect the victim and to make her feel safer.


It’s another new year. But how many more till this is a better place for women?

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