Nearly 12 years ago, the brutal gang rape of a young woman in the national capital shook India. Like so many others here age, Jyoti (Nirbhaya) had just seen a movie at a cinema in a popular South Delhi mall, when she and her friend boarded a bus they thought would take them home. What unfolded on that bus after that was a crime so horrific, so heinous that it makes my blood curl even today.
As journalists, we cover countless stories of despair, tragedy and loss. But Nirbhaya’s story hit especially hard. As protests swept Delhi, I drove to the bus stop where she had boarded the bus that fateful night. It had become a shrine, with flowers and tributes. Like millions of women in India, I felt a sense of rage that cannot be described.
What will it take to make women feel safe on their own streets? What will it take to fight a culture of misogyny and sexism that is deeply entrenched in our society? What will it take to get courts to ensure speedy trials and get us justice?
12 years later, those exact questions are haunting us all over again. In Kolkata, a 31 year old trainee doctor working in a government run medical college was found dead on the 9th of August, with brutal injuries to her body. She had finished a tough 36 hour shift and fell asleep in the seminar room. The autopsy revealed rape and a hospital volunteer has been arrested.
Since then, a wave of protests have gripped not just Kolkata, where thousands of women marched to “Reclaim the Night”, but also other cities, with doctors standing in solidarity and demanding more protection. The case has exposed the poor working conditions of resident doctors who don’t even have safe spaces to rest.
As the anger spread, the reactions of political parties was predictable and yet so infuriating. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee decided to hold her own protest (against what? Her own government?) and demanded the death penalty for the perpetrator within days. This was nothing but histrionics and a woman Chief Minister should have known better. Instead of taking responsibility, she was telling the opposition not to “politicise” the incident.
Disingenuous and insincere
Another phrase I’m really sick of hearing. Every incident of sexual violence against women MUST be politicised and political leaders held to account. To make things worse, a mob vandalised the hospital in Kolkata and attacked protesters, under the watchful eye of the police.
A stunning failure of the state which prompted the High Court to call it an absolute failure of the state machinery. Within the ruling Trinamool Congress, those leaders who have criticised the handling of the rape and murder have been sidelined and attacked by fellow TMC leaders. One spokesperson was removed from his post.
As the BJP goes on the offensive against Mamata, their high moral ground is hypocritical and hollow. It was the BJP government that gave the go ahead for parole to Bilkis Bano’s rapists and it was their supporters who garlanded them.
It was the BJP which protected its own MP, Brij Bhushan Singh, who was accused by India’s Olympic winning wrestlers of sexual harassment and faces a court case for the same. The minister in charge of women’s welfare at the time, Smriti Irani, did not utter a word on these two cases but has suddenly found her voice for the Kolkata victim, because it suits the politics of the BJP.
The Supreme Court of India has now stepped in and come down heavily on Mamata Banerjee’s government and its handling of the entire episode. Women’s safety has to be a top political issue, not some lip service.
Until we hold politicians accountable for this, nothing will change. But the heart of problem lies in a rape culture that is so deeply entrenched in our society. Misogyny and sexism are huge challenges women continue to face.
It’s time to reclaim our lives.
