The barbaric gangrape and the subsequent tragic suicide of the 14-year-old girl from Kunduli is a travesty of justice of the worst order. Sexual assault on young women causes severe trauma. Physical injuries mend sooner often, but it is the inner intense emotional pain that no one can see and the victim herself feels and lives through, taking the longest to heal. The Kunduli episode has stirred the collective psyche of the society as a 14-year-old child was raped and then forced to commit suicide to escape social stigma and isolation as she was not getting support and justice for her survival.
Anger and anguish continues pouring out in civil society and social media such as FaceBook and Twitter. The Hashtag and number of tweets on #KunduliGangRape is ever increasing. Prominent leaders and citizens are aghast and expressing their deep anger over the indifference and inefficiency of the State Government in dealing with this very sensitive issue. Opposition forces like the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have been hitting streets protesting against the Government’s apathy. People at large are stirred over issue as was evident from their support to the opposition parties’ recent Odisha Bandh call. The protest, in a sense, is a reflection of people’s anger against the ever-increasing violence against women.
Only in a week from January 11 to 17, there were several reports of severe atrocities against women. On January 11, in Dashrathpur block of Jajpur district, a 23-year-old woman was lured to come to the BJD office to get housing allotment under the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana. When she came there, she was sexually assaulted by an active BJD member.
On January 14, a 23-year-old woman in Mayurbhanj district was raped by her father-in-law and committed suicide by burning herself. The same day, in Kalampur block of Kalahandi district, in a gruesome acid attack, the face and body of a 22-year-old girl was burned and disfigured. The very day again, at Jogimunda village in Patnagarh of Balangir district, a four-year-old girl was a victim of rape. On January 15, a +2 college student was molested in her classroom by none other than her classmates in Athagarh in Cuttack district.
Incidences like the above and many more are pointing to the fact that Odisha is eventually becoming a place which does not have a congenial and safe atmosphere for womenfolk. Though the BJD Government has always projected itself as the champion of women empowerment, the recent incidences and a steep decline in protection of basic human rights of women of the State are to the contrary. The Government’s false promises and slogans to make the educational institutes completely crime-free proved hollow.
The gangrape in Kunduli took place in October 2017; and the victim ultimately ended her life on January 22 this year as she was denied justice. She had alleged that four men in uniform had assaulted her. In one of her last TV interviews, she had stated what trauma she was going through. She had been repeatedly suggested to ignore what had happened to her and get on with her life and studies. But she was severely stigmatised by peers and people near her who had in return made her life so miserable that she could not cope up with the mounting mental torment and finally had to take her own life. The State power could not answer her repeated innocent question as to ‘what was her fault’.
People of Odisha have put their trust and faith year after year in the present ruling dispensation for last 18 long years, a record in the State. Is it not the duty of the Government to protect the most vulnerable sections of the society? According to the National Family Health Survey (2015-2016) data, one in three women in Odisha has experienced family (spouse) violence, which is higher than the national average. It is not easy for women to fight for their own rights due to a regressive patriarchal mindset of a male-dominated society, where most rapes are never reported, and even if reported, the culprits are never brought to book. On the contrary, victim blaming and victim shaming is a common practice. As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in 2016, Odisha has a staggering report of 1,983 rapes.
It is high time the State Government published a victims’ code document outlining the support and information the victims of sexual assault should receive from the concerned departments. The State should also provide financial compensation to the victims. It should facilitate the NGOs with partnership to create centres of par-excellence for the victims of Rape and Sexual Abuse Survivors (RASAS). These RASAS centres run by professionals such as trained psychologists should be dedicated to healing and empowering the victims and the survivors of sexual violence.
Let the Kunduli girl story be a beacon for bringing in the desired changes in our society and alert the administration for its right action in right time!
(Dr Biswal is a freelance writer)