Rakesh Agrawal
Ajmer
ON a sultry day in April, about 500 women protestors from rural areas in Rajasthan gathered outside the district collectorate in Ajmer. Theywere from the Mahila Jan Adhikar Samiti (MJAS) and they had only one thing on their mind – to highlight issues related to rape through the Balatkar Virodhi Manch (Forum Against Rape). The Manch was formed 10 years ago, when the court gave a verdict in the Dhapu Bai case which was widely denounced as unjust. The court had then dismissed the rape case of Dhapu Bai on the basis of her medical report which did not establish rape. It insensitively declared that the victim was ‘sexually habitual.’ Since then, the Manch has worked to expose every aspect of rape and generate public opposition to this heinous crime. The public hearing followed a partly legal approach. Although all 21 victims were present in the hearing, they remained incognito.
The Manch activists read out the cases along with the action taken by the police, court andadministration. Society’s reaction and the steps taken by the Manch were also put forward.“The overall aim of this hearing is not to sensationalise the matter, but sensitise the judiciary, administration and general public against such heinous crimes,” explained Manch coordinator Indira Pancholi. These representative cases in which the Manch has been actively involved from the very beginning– from lodging a First Information Report (FIR) to providing financial and emotional assistance to victims– highlighted all sides of inspections, antiwomen legal proceedings, the court’s ambience, the role of the public prosecutor and using force on the victims to ‘compromise.’ The Samiti organised the public hearing with the Jan Morcha, Rajasthan Child Relief and You, Bal Vikas Chetana Manch, Bhilwara and Dalit Adhikar Manch, Jaipur. Also present were a couple of teachers from Delhi University, the local MLA, the PUCL president and the legendary Bhanwari Devi. Nine out of the 21 victims were minors.
While one victim was raped by her father, another was raped by her stepfather. In another case it was the uncle who raped a victim. In most cases, the crime was committed by someone known to the victim. What was common in all the cases was the insensitive and anti-women approach of the police, administration and medical fraternity. In many cases, the police initially refused to write an FIR and demanded money for it. After public pressure by the Manch, the police wrote the FIR, but delayed the investigation. In one case, where a four-yearold was raped by her stepfather, the medical report denied any rape and the criminal was set free. “It proves that there is a strong nexus between the police and medical fraternity,” said Tripta Vahi, a Delhi University (DU) professor who was present. Most of the victims belonged to low income groups and had little money and no social support. In the case of a nine-year- old Muslim girl who was raped by a Gujjar youth, the culprit was supported by his community. In fact, the victim’s family members were threatened by the culprit’s family. Result: they didn’t dare appear in court and the criminal was duly acquitted. But in another case, society supported the victim even after the culprit was acquitted.
The panchayat ostracised him and asked him to pay compensation to the victim.“Make violence against women a live issue in your panchayats and crimes against women must be discussed in all the gram sabhas. To get justice, you women have to struggle. Be brave and fight to the end,” said the heroic Bhanwari Devi who was herself a victim of rape. She fought bravely against the criminals and an insensitive legal system. Others supported her. “You women have broken the tradition of remaining silent. This must continue,” asserted Neeraj Malik, a DU professor. Another academic gave a historical perspective to the patriarchal tendency that is the root cause of genderdiscrimination.“This is the reason why women are considered‘second sex’ and violence against them is its ultimate notion,” said Vahi.
A women’s chaupal was held inside the collectorate office. “We discussed issues like what women feel about this, why thesekinds of incidents occur and what should we do to prevent them,” said Pancholi. Consequently, it was decided to launch acampaign of six months to one year duration to sensitise the men through pamphlets, posters and exhibitions. “The issue of genderdiscrimination will be openly discussed in homes, at open forums and at village meetings,” said Bhanwari Devi. Meetings withpolice officers have been scheduled.“I’ll be personally present in the meeting with the DIG,” assured Anita Bhadel, the local MLA. Itwas also decided that the now defunct District Women Support Committee established four years ago would be revived. Similarly,meetings with the state secretary to prevent violence against women will resume. A series of consultations and meetings on the issue with important sections of civil society have been planned. The PUCL is also supporting the Manch in its efforts, “We willcontinue our association with the Manch and we have accepted their consultations,” said Than Singh Jatav, PUCL president and ex-Pfrom Bharatpur.
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