When Rape becomes Yet Another Excuse to Remind Women to ‘Keep Within Their Limits’...

When a young girl gets abducted and raped minutes away from a Police Thana, and is brave enough to keep her head and fight to bring the rapists to justice, how does the capital city and its custodians respond? In the eyes of the police, in the eyes of college principals, in the eyes of patriarchal society, the simple act of visiting a dhaba for a cup of tea in the night is an unforgivable crime when committed by a woman. It is the crime of ‘forgetting’ her ‘limits’, of daring to ‘forget’ her inferior status as a woman, of daring to forget that only men are free to indulge their wish for a breath of fresh air or a cup of tea at midnight.

Sample the following opinions expressed publicly by Principals of DU Colleges:

Ø “If girls can’t realize where they should go at what time, how can we expect them to become responsible citizens ! ” -Principal, Venkateshwara College

Ø “Rape is shameful, but the question is : is it our country’s culture for girls to go out to a dhaba for a cup of tea at 2 in the night?” -Principal, PGDAV College

Ø “That girl went with her friend fearlessly to a dhaba at 2:15 am just for a cup of tea ! What is the guarantee that she wasn’t in the habit of visiting the place? When girls forget their limits in the name of freedom, the consequences are bad. Actually, our security is in our own hands”. -Principal of a College in Delhi

Ø “In our society, girls who go out at night are not considered good. May be the rapists also assumed the girls were of bad character. I would advise girls to learn to keep their limits.” -Principal, Kalindi College

Ø “Girls have forgotten the difference between freedom and indiscipline. Their dress and body language invites rapists. Modernity has made them forget their limits... ” -Principal, Sri Aurobindo College (eve.)

As for the Police? Are they at all alarmed at the fact that Delhi is fast turning into the ‘rape capital’ of the country, maybe even the world? Listen to the views of the former Punjab DGP KPS Gill. He admits that “ Delhi is the worst city”. Because of the rapists who feel free to run loose in Delhi ? Oh no. Gill declares: “For this I would blame the women who try to keep in tune with the trend. They are the ones who provoke them.” Well, Mr. Gill, were you similarly ‘provoked’ when you sexually harassed an IAS Officer Rupam Deol Bajaj?

When all ‘respectable’ fingers point blame at the rape victim herself, it is refreshing to hear people like a young Manipuri woman Pineng Thaivum, for saying: “I think a girl should be able to dress the way she wants and if she feels hungry at 2 am she should be able to go out and get food. A guy has no problems, so why should a girl?”

The Delhi Police says women must “avoid dark and lonely places” --May we ask them :

Ø The friend of the girl abducted at Dhaula Kuan informed the Police immediately, telling them the registration number, colour and make of the car. Yet, the car drove around the main streets and prominent highways of Delhi for an hour, before the abductors switched cars, and raped the woman for hours before dumping her. Why couldn’t the police take the minimum step of stopping and checking every car on the deserted night roads of Delhi ?

Ø How could these women have avoided rape: The nurse who was brutally raped in a Delhi hospital was not out on the streets; she was at work in a hospital. Another woman, a young mehandi painter, was raped recently on Jantar Mantar lawns where she was sleeping at night. Can the Delhi Police and Delhi Govt answer: how was this woman supposed to avoid “dark and lonely places”? Why are there no safe shelters for poor women in the capital city? A 60-year old woman was also recently raped in the city: was she wearing “provocative” clothes?

We also need to ask: why do rapists feel so confident? Isn’t it because the police and the courts indulge them? Why are so few rapists caught and punished? We need to question the patriarchal prejudices which most of the police force and judiciary share with the bulk of society.