its too long but its worth reading ....
Please read it completely .... may be some people thinking will change must read
Via 18+ confessions
(A reporter's first hand experience)
We’re in the Atail-Idana village that comes under the
Gohana tehsil of Haryana’s Sonipat district. A bunch of
children are playing cricket in a field. When we ask them
the address of Sunil of the dhanuk community, they
exchange suggestive smiles and then point towards a
house across the field. One of them, who turns out to be
Sunil’s relative, throws his bat on the ground and says,
“Sunil and his parents are not home. The door will open
only if one of us knocks.” The boy brings us to Sunil’s
house. “Get the door opened, a lady is here,” the 12-year-
old boy calls, knocking at the door.
Two girls, aged between 10 to 12 years, open the door. In
the courtyard, we see a shed for buffaloes behind which
a girl veiled in a sari is washing clothes near the
handpump. This is Sunil’s wife, Ragini. The girls who
opened the door are Ragini’s ‘family sentinels’. Ever since
28 September 2012, Ragini’s in-laws keep a close watch
on her. She is not allowed to talk to anyone. She cannot
answer the door nor can she receive a call if the phone
rings. If it is hot inside, she is not permitted to even sit in
the courtyard and every time she has to go to the
lavatory, she must take someone along. They do not trust
her and hate to even look at her.
Ragini’s life was not always like this. She got married to
Sunil last year and like any other young 19-year-old
bride, she dreamt of a beautiful life with her husband
whom she loved. But a horrific incident turned her life
upside down. On 28 September 2012, Ragini was
gangraped by four men for five days and four nights. She
managed to escape, but the incident left her being called
a whore, a thief, and a woman without character. Despite
being the victim of such a heinous crime, the girl had to
bear the brunt of familial and judicial neglect. Her story
paints a distressing picture of the bleak future of rape
victims.
Sunil is a hawker who sells utensils and his father is also a
vendor. They are not at home today. Allowing me into
her single-room house, Ragini tries to send the two
‘guards’ away by engaging them in some work. She
whispers, “I must send them away, or they will tell my
mother-in-law everything. I’ll be in trouble. They always
leave these girls to spy on me.” When I tell her to share
anything in her heart with me, she cries and says, “I only
wish to die, didi. I would have killed myself long ago. But
these people do not leave me even for a moment. I am
helpless.”
In September 2012, Ragini had gone to visit her parents
for the first time after her wedding. Her parents belong to
the dhanuk community and so their home stands at the
furthermost end of Banwas village. Coming under the
backward class category, this community has traditionally
done the work of cleaning the houses of upper-caste
people and cutting grass. But Ragini’s parents work as
bonded labour and rear buffaloes on lease. Ragini’s
mother, Santosh, says, “We had saved money for years to
marry our daughter. She had come home for the first
time. Then, four boys kidnapped her from the railway-
crossing near the village. She returned after five days in a
bad condition. We wanted all the culprits to be punished.
We even reported it to the police. But then the villagers
and our community put pressure on us. We had no
option but to withdraw the complaint.”
This incident happened in the same month of September
2012 when 20 such rape incidents in Haryana had
grabbed national headlines. Ragini says, “I had a
neighbour Maphi, who owns a beauty-parlour and also
taught me sewing. On 28 September, she told me that my
husband had called several times and wanted to meet me
at the crossing. But he was not there.”
Instead, she was kidnapped by two men, Sanjay and Sunil,
from Gohana Phatak. In a white car, they took her to an
isolated room in the middle of a rice-field on Gohana-
Khakrohi Road. Two other men were present there – Anil
from Ahmedpur Majra and Shravan from Hitadi. Ragini
continues her story, “I was made to sniff something that
made me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I
was lying in a room that housed a water pump in the
middle of a field. They were upon me, biting and pinching
me. They watched dirty videos on their mobiles, laughed
and clawed at me. I was without clothes for four days.
They took me to Kurukshetra and from there to Panipat. I
was wearing some jewellery that I had received on my
wedding – ear rings, anklets and a ring. They sold
everything and handed me an old, torn salwar kameez. I
begged them to leave me, but they only laughed at me.
Somehow I got the opportunity and secretly phoned my
father. The police came to rescue me. But by then, five
days had already passed.”
Ragini and her family claim that Maphi was involved in
the crime too, but they had to get her released. Santosh
tells us, “After we reported the incident, we came to know
that all the four boys were from our community. For the
first three months, while supporting us, the villagers
insisted that we get Maphi released, while the four boys
should stay in jail. It became a matter about the honour
of the village. As a result, we had to withdraw our
statement against Maphi. Then we started getting
pressurized to do the same for the four men as well. For
10 days, people from our community sat outside our
door. The elders from the boys’ families also arrived.
Then Ragini’s in-laws came too. They said that their son’s
life was being threatened. A girl cannot marry again and
her in-laws might not have taken her back. So we had to
withdraw all the charges.”
Ragini says, “I was helpless. My in-laws felt that if I
pursued the case, it would bring disgrace to them. My
husband’s life was also in danger. Everyone said that if I
wanted my in-laws to accept me again, I should change
my statement before the court and say that I was not
raped, that during those five days I was at my in-law’s
place. I was told to state that the medical reports were
such because I had been intimate with my husband. I did
what I was told. Everyone was present there. I couldn’t
speak the truth.” On 24 April 2013, additional district and
sessions judge Manisha Batra sentenced Ragini to 10 days
in jail and a fine of Rs 500 for giving a false statement in
the court.
Vice-president of the Rashtriya Janvadi Mahila Samiti,
Jagmati Sangvan calls Ragini’s story a tragic example of
the societal pressure put on rape victims in the absence
of rehabilitation policies. She says, “It is one of the most
heinous rape incidents. Even the judiciary could not see
that the girl was under pressure and passed the verdict
against her. Clearly, the ground reality is that even the
new laws have failed to give justice to women.”
Meanwhile, Ragini’s nightmare continues. When asked to
lodge a complaint with the police, she says, “There is no
question of it. Everybody here thinks I am guilty. They say
that I knew those men and had run off with them to have
fun. Even if I comb my hair or sit in the courtyard, my
young sister-in-law and brother-in-law pass comments
like ‘Who are you enticing now? Haven’t you been
satisfied yet?’ They call me vulgar and cheap. My mother-
in-law taunts me for not bearing children. Even my
husband doesn’t understand. He also believes that I ran
away willingly. I can’t even breathe and you are talking of
going to the police! What was my fault? I would want to
see those criminals get a heavy punishment. But it’s not
in my hands. I am supposed to stay silent. So I stay
silent.”
Please read it completely .... may be some people thinking will change must read
Via 18+ confessions
(A reporter's first hand experience)
We’re in the Atail-Idana village that comes under the
Gohana tehsil of Haryana’s Sonipat district. A bunch of
children are playing cricket in a field. When we ask them
the address of Sunil of the dhanuk community, they
exchange suggestive smiles and then point towards a
house across the field. One of them, who turns out to be
Sunil’s relative, throws his bat on the ground and says,
“Sunil and his parents are not home. The door will open
only if one of us knocks.” The boy brings us to Sunil’s
house. “Get the door opened, a lady is here,” the 12-year-
old boy calls, knocking at the door.
Two girls, aged between 10 to 12 years, open the door. In
the courtyard, we see a shed for buffaloes behind which
a girl veiled in a sari is washing clothes near the
handpump. This is Sunil’s wife, Ragini. The girls who
opened the door are Ragini’s ‘family sentinels’. Ever since
28 September 2012, Ragini’s in-laws keep a close watch
on her. She is not allowed to talk to anyone. She cannot
answer the door nor can she receive a call if the phone
rings. If it is hot inside, she is not permitted to even sit in
the courtyard and every time she has to go to the
lavatory, she must take someone along. They do not trust
her and hate to even look at her.
Ragini’s life was not always like this. She got married to
Sunil last year and like any other young 19-year-old
bride, she dreamt of a beautiful life with her husband
whom she loved. But a horrific incident turned her life
upside down. On 28 September 2012, Ragini was
gangraped by four men for five days and four nights. She
managed to escape, but the incident left her being called
a whore, a thief, and a woman without character. Despite
being the victim of such a heinous crime, the girl had to
bear the brunt of familial and judicial neglect. Her story
paints a distressing picture of the bleak future of rape
victims.
Sunil is a hawker who sells utensils and his father is also a
vendor. They are not at home today. Allowing me into
her single-room house, Ragini tries to send the two
‘guards’ away by engaging them in some work. She
whispers, “I must send them away, or they will tell my
mother-in-law everything. I’ll be in trouble. They always
leave these girls to spy on me.” When I tell her to share
anything in her heart with me, she cries and says, “I only
wish to die, didi. I would have killed myself long ago. But
these people do not leave me even for a moment. I am
helpless.”
In September 2012, Ragini had gone to visit her parents
for the first time after her wedding. Her parents belong to
the dhanuk community and so their home stands at the
furthermost end of Banwas village. Coming under the
backward class category, this community has traditionally
done the work of cleaning the houses of upper-caste
people and cutting grass. But Ragini’s parents work as
bonded labour and rear buffaloes on lease. Ragini’s
mother, Santosh, says, “We had saved money for years to
marry our daughter. She had come home for the first
time. Then, four boys kidnapped her from the railway-
crossing near the village. She returned after five days in a
bad condition. We wanted all the culprits to be punished.
We even reported it to the police. But then the villagers
and our community put pressure on us. We had no
option but to withdraw the complaint.”
This incident happened in the same month of September
2012 when 20 such rape incidents in Haryana had
grabbed national headlines. Ragini says, “I had a
neighbour Maphi, who owns a beauty-parlour and also
taught me sewing. On 28 September, she told me that my
husband had called several times and wanted to meet me
at the crossing. But he was not there.”
Instead, she was kidnapped by two men, Sanjay and Sunil,
from Gohana Phatak. In a white car, they took her to an
isolated room in the middle of a rice-field on Gohana-
Khakrohi Road. Two other men were present there – Anil
from Ahmedpur Majra and Shravan from Hitadi. Ragini
continues her story, “I was made to sniff something that
made me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I
was lying in a room that housed a water pump in the
middle of a field. They were upon me, biting and pinching
me. They watched dirty videos on their mobiles, laughed
and clawed at me. I was without clothes for four days.
They took me to Kurukshetra and from there to Panipat. I
was wearing some jewellery that I had received on my
wedding – ear rings, anklets and a ring. They sold
everything and handed me an old, torn salwar kameez. I
begged them to leave me, but they only laughed at me.
Somehow I got the opportunity and secretly phoned my
father. The police came to rescue me. But by then, five
days had already passed.”
Ragini and her family claim that Maphi was involved in
the crime too, but they had to get her released. Santosh
tells us, “After we reported the incident, we came to know
that all the four boys were from our community. For the
first three months, while supporting us, the villagers
insisted that we get Maphi released, while the four boys
should stay in jail. It became a matter about the honour
of the village. As a result, we had to withdraw our
statement against Maphi. Then we started getting
pressurized to do the same for the four men as well. For
10 days, people from our community sat outside our
door. The elders from the boys’ families also arrived.
Then Ragini’s in-laws came too. They said that their son’s
life was being threatened. A girl cannot marry again and
her in-laws might not have taken her back. So we had to
withdraw all the charges.”
Ragini says, “I was helpless. My in-laws felt that if I
pursued the case, it would bring disgrace to them. My
husband’s life was also in danger. Everyone said that if I
wanted my in-laws to accept me again, I should change
my statement before the court and say that I was not
raped, that during those five days I was at my in-law’s
place. I was told to state that the medical reports were
such because I had been intimate with my husband. I did
what I was told. Everyone was present there. I couldn’t
speak the truth.” On 24 April 2013, additional district and
sessions judge Manisha Batra sentenced Ragini to 10 days
in jail and a fine of Rs 500 for giving a false statement in
the court.
Vice-president of the Rashtriya Janvadi Mahila Samiti,
Jagmati Sangvan calls Ragini’s story a tragic example of
the societal pressure put on rape victims in the absence
of rehabilitation policies. She says, “It is one of the most
heinous rape incidents. Even the judiciary could not see
that the girl was under pressure and passed the verdict
against her. Clearly, the ground reality is that even the
new laws have failed to give justice to women.”
Meanwhile, Ragini’s nightmare continues. When asked to
lodge a complaint with the police, she says, “There is no
question of it. Everybody here thinks I am guilty. They say
that I knew those men and had run off with them to have
fun. Even if I comb my hair or sit in the courtyard, my
young sister-in-law and brother-in-law pass comments
like ‘Who are you enticing now? Haven’t you been
satisfied yet?’ They call me vulgar and cheap. My mother-
in-law taunts me for not bearing children. Even my
husband doesn’t understand. He also believes that I ran
away willingly. I can’t even breathe and you are talking of
going to the police! What was my fault? I would want to
see those criminals get a heavy punishment. But it’s not
in my hands. I am supposed to stay silent. So I stay
silent.”
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