Rape After Rape Yet System Remains Unaffected By Dangerous Men Who Hang Around In Wolf Packs

India cannot call itself a true democracy while half of its population lives in fear and insecurity. The question is not just about laws but about societal change. We must demand a system that protects the vulnerable and punishes the guilty swiftly and severely. “Justice delayed is indeed justice denied.” The perpetual postponement of justice for survivors only adds to their trauma and suffering.

I am so ashamed and traumatized by the recent horrific atrocities on women in India, as are all women across the length and breadth of this country. Enough of being a victim. 

The Delhi Nirbhaya case is a prime example which took 8 long years for the criminals to hang. Atrocities, murder, torture and rape took a fraction of the time. The delay in execution of the death sentence can be attributed to the safeguards bestowed upon a convict before he faces the noose. As per procedure, the convicts have the legal right to challenge a lower court's verdict in the High Court, and then the Supreme Court. 

Is it not time for humane behaviour to be also shown to the hapless victim’s relatives who are almost dead and shell-shocked, after their deep loss? The convicts neither turn saints overnight in a lockup nor do they have any remorse. They only delay justice. The cases of crime against women should be decided in a special court without having to go up the ladder from lower court to high court to supreme court. The punishment should be a death sentence and public shaming so severe that others think 100 times before committing a crime against women.

The 17-year-old juvenile delinquent of the Nirbhaya Delhi case was put in lockup. He was then rehabilitated as a tailor, gifted a sewing machine and let loose into society, to perfect a few more atrocities and rape more women. He did not show any humane signs when he mercilessly raped and tortured a helpless girl. It was amply evident he was a psychopath. 

A plea should go forth that such convicts do not deserve govt space, money, and taxpayers’ resources to be kept alive. 

We have seen Nirbhaya 1, then Nirbhaya 2 then 3 and more and countless crimes on little children, some reported, some unreported. How long are we going to be victims of a patriarchal society? A stringent capital punishment law needs to be passed. Too long, have we had people dragging their feet, deliberating and pondering. Atrocities, murder and rape of helpless women and children need fast-track court decisions, once the culprits are identified. Why did it take so long for the murderers and rapists of Nirbhaya to hang?

Today it is the young Kolkata doctor with evidence purposely messed up and the so-called hospital admonishing and bullying its staff and telling them not to agitate. It feels, like “this foul cover-up” portrays a total lack of dignity and respect for the young Kolkata doctor. If only the departed/dead could speak, for it is “murder most foul”  

Wake-up call for all Indians

"Either we become a nation that fiercely protects its women and children, or we admit to being complicit in their continued suffering."

"India can no longer hide behind its achievements and development while it continues to fail its women."

"We do not need a world defined by men if it means sacrificing the safety and dignity of women. We need a world where justice is swift, fair, and uncompromising."

"A democracy that does not protect its most vulnerable is not a democracy; it is a betrayal of its very principles."

"78 years of independence mean nothing if half of our population is still fighting for their basic right to safety."

"We need to stop burning candles in protest and start lighting the fires of justice."

"India's progress and global standing are meaningless if women here are not safe. A nation that doesn't value its women has no true honour or integrity."

"It's time for the system to wake up and take decisive, uncompromising action to ensure that justice is not just a word, but a reality for all."

"Gender equality is not a woman's issue. It is a human issue. It affects us all."

I am a working senior citizen, who grew up in Delhi in the 70s and 80s and it was not at all safe for women even then. Eve teasing on the streets and in public transport was rampant.  As a schoolgirl, I read about the ransom kidnapping, rape and murder of 16-year-old Geeta Chopra and Sanjay, her 14-year-old little brother, children of Naval officers. The brother died trying to save her from 2 hardened criminals Billa and Ranga who had just been released from Arthur Road Jail in Bombay. Their decomposed bodies were found on an Isolated part of Ridge Road Forest considered part of the Aravalli Range.

After the trial, the Supreme Court upheld the Verdict and no Presidential Pardon was granted. They were finally hanged to death, however, it took almost for years for the same. We cannot understand why it was so late when both men confessed to the brutal murder. 

The three-judge bench imposed a death sentence on Ranga and Billa after observing that the murder was planned and not a result of a sudden impulse. As the judges said “The survival of an orderly society demands the extinction of the life of persons like Ranga and Billa who are a menace to social order and security. They are professional murderers and deserve no sympathy even in terms of the evolving standards of decency of a maturing society.” 

Why is the system impervious to dangerous psychotic men who hang around in wolf packs attacking single women to shreds? These jungle-like predators need to be eliminated immediately, once proven guilty, change the armament laws and let women citizens buy their weapons for self-defence. Is India desensitised? In any case, hatred displayed by men does not end with assault/molestation/rape. It feels as if they want to snuff out the life force from women!

Why keep these men alive? Proven guilty they will not have a change of heart in jail and become saints overnight.

My question is, why does democracy make a sham of gender equality with oppressive systems, police and injustice all set in place to favour rapists, sexual and domestic violence, bullying and otherwise.

Currency can be changed overnight, parliament can remain open all night for trust votes, salaries of politicians can be discussed overnight, and Instagram tweets and slandering can be discussed on urgent basis too. But a woman's shame, pain, dignity and murder, do not matter enough to get the priority it deserves? It is no different for rural or urban-educated women. 

78 years of Independence wasted, with politicians, bureaucracy, police and vested interests making a mockery of so-called democracy.

If there are more women like me out there, which I am sure there are, please do write. Because we will otherwise leave a very frightening country behind for our daughters, and granddaughters.

Termites like this leave democracy a hollow shell.

Views expressed are the author's own.