Aruna Shanbaug case is in the headlines, and the Supreme Court has upheld her right to live; there is a lot of happiness and celebration from her former colleagues and nurses at KEM hospital. The tragic rape of this nurse at KEM hospital 36 years ago when she was strangled with a dog collar left her in permanent vegetative state since then. She has been confined to a bed since 36 years and has been dutifully attended to by nurses at KEM when her own family could not afford to take care of her. I am not going to talk about euthanasia or whether she should be allowed to die with dignity. I just feel for this vibrant, then-young woman (as seen in her earlier photographs), whose dignity and right to a happy life was snuffed out in an instance. She is breathing but is this life? And, the ward boy who did this to her just got a 7-year imprisonment! As a woman, I feel upset and angry every time I read about such things. Growing up in India, God knows, all of us have suffered smaller forms of these indignities. Isn’t it easy for a man to whistle, pass a lewd comment, grope you, or brush against you and give you a vile smile. It leaves you feeling so dirty , disgusted, and helpless.
I remember an incident while I was doing my graduation. There was this girl in college who came one day to college in tears. Girls, as we instinctively do, surrounded her and asked her what the matter was. She said that she was in a bus with a man seated next to her. As his stop neared and the bus slowed down, he rose up, brutally cupped her breast and got down. It happened in a matter of seconds, and she could not react. But, it affected her so deeply that she cried her way to college and was in trauma for a few days. I am sure that each of us has a trick to ward off unwanted touch in public places especially in crowds but sometimes these horrible creatures are just so quick and demented. Groping, molesting, raping, abuse, brutality — violence against women exists in so many forms.
As a woman, the worst crime that can be inflicted upon her is raping her. This act of cruelty violates a woman and shakes her in a manner, which leaves her emotionally scarred for life. Every single day, we read of women being brutally raped in our country. Most of the times, it is a crime of power not passion. A man at his worst assaults a woman’s dignity to make her pay. The other day, I read of a road-rage incident in Bangalore that happened in broad daylight, where a woman, a mother of a little girl, was abducted along with her male friend by 4 men in a car. They had a quarrel over the amount they had to pay to the car owners for a dent in their car. The man somehow got away, but the woman was gang-raped. For what? A minor bump on their car was paid for by the woman who was not even driving the car, which caused the incident in question.
Yes, women in cities in India enjoy a larger freedom and independence as compared to women of the previous generation. But, are they safe? Why are so many brutal crimes committed against women? When will we walk the streets in this country, even at night, dressed the way we like, with no fear of getting molested or raped? Why must we pay for a man’s crudeness and his flaws?
Women of this country continue to await that day!
Rachna says 
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