My Humble Tribute

At times all you need to do is feel the pain. But wait…how can you feel the pain of a rape victim? Perhaps as a woman, the only thought that crosses my mind and rips me apart is someone claiming my body without my consent. Then the worst part is not just once or twice but multiple times being raped by people you know or not know and finally when every part of you has been devoured, you are left to be found by friends or strangers and the story of your life becomes a news in itself and you are raped again; this time as a story.

I am sorry..I am doing the same my dear girl..as helpless as I feel for not being able to help you and before I glorify my deed, I beg for your forgiveness!!!!!

A butter lamp ceremony was done on February 13, 2015, at Patan Durbar Square in memory of this young Nepali girl who was gang raped and murdered in Rohtak - Hisar, India. Her body was discovered in a half eaten stage. The story haunted me so much that it not only brought the shameful memory of the Delhi rape case of December 2012 but also made me realize how helpless we still are. It made me question the existence of humanity. I felt suffocated and sought solace in different ways. Indian media highlighted the case but to my disappointment, the Nepali media, government, diplomatic interventions and even the civil society remained voiceless. The social media was active hence some of us thought let us bring awareness through this median.

There were about 200 people: friends, colleagues, solidarity through social media, locals of Patan, curious youth, tourists and those of us who wanted to raise our voices against such cruel acts of humanity were present. We wanted our government to take some diplomatic actions, wanted our civil society to raise their concern and also wanted ourselves to be aware of such inhumane activities haunting our society. Interestingly, some found the lit up lights spiritual while some made it a backdrop to their pre-Valentine profile picture.

By the time I got around sitting and writing this blog, numerous rape cases has been reported and the worst has been the rape and subsequent death of a 7 year old little angel from Bara, Nepal. I cannot articulate with the precise expression at this stage because this is what I define as “at loss for words.” She may have died later but the innocence was raped when the perpetrator set his eyes on her. Agree that he has been slapped with jail sentence through a fast track process and I am not a supporter of capital punishment but even today, all I can think of is this little girl who died because someone forgot that she was a little child and that she was yet to see the beauty called life. These are the times when you realize you do not need to know the victim to feel the sadness.

The vulnerability that clouds the surrounding is unhealthy. My worry now is more tilted towards the feeling that I hope the society does not get accustomed to the concept of rape and it does not become “just another news” where we read, talk about it, light candles, seek justice, fast track methods but the ratio of rapes do not decline and then again, I end up writing another blog where  I say “I am speechless and  I am sorry.”