The default victim...
The default victim ...
Scene 1-A woman caught in a communal mob.. A mob formed of so called her own people.. Of so called her own...-
The guys who were in the front kept on hitting on her more ferociously ...the blows were landing not just on her face and abdomen but on her psyche too.... They kept on saying " how dare u look up.. How dare she look in our eyes? Look down .. Neeche dekh" they yelled...she looked at all of them .. Some familiar faces in the mob.. Some of them were her neighbours.. Some her schoolmates.. Some were even her childhood playmates.. All were apne ..,but all seemed to be strangers to her then...She had readied herself for the worst.. Had told herself .. This is it.. She will be gangraped here.. Maybe killed or brutally traumatized ...then killed.. That's it.. But then she told herself" I will not beg the monsters for mercy".. No I will not beg them .. No.. " She raised her head and looked straight into thier eyes without flinching.. With each blow ..she never begged just kept looking into thier eyes.. That irked them a lot.. They couldn't take it.. They wanted to see her break down.. To beg for mercy..her raised head made them even more angry.. Angry on her jurrat... Some one yelled " show the bitch her place"..,she whispered to herself " my place? .. What's my place? And why? Just because I am a woman .. A woman who dares to raise her head... And to stand courageously for a fair cause.?? Is that my fault ? " she whispered to herself..and braced herself for more blows..
Scene 2--
He is a typical monsterous chauvinist kind of husband,,,He likes woman to be in purdah.. No work allowed to her.. his gutsy wife though wears a burqa.. But dared to work without informing him as she needs some money for her kids and she likes to work too.. The day he comes to know.. He says nothing.. There is a chilling silence...,.They have 8-15 yr old kids.. He takes her quietly in the bedroom .. Asks the terrified kids to sit in living room.. Quietly and not utter a word.. And then in broad daylight in her own home .. The woman is raped brutally by her own husband as a punishment for daring to work without his consent.. The camera is only focussing on the kids faces sitting in living room who can hear the horrifying screams of their mother from inside but can't do anything..the dents of trauma on the psyche of the kids are almost visually visible.... There is a mute sense of spectatorship and acceptance engraved both in audience and even in the victim herself for this brutality.. After all he is her husband.. There are only two sounds coming from the room one is his ferocious yells " how dare u ? How dare u take a decision on ur own? Will show u ur place...The law gives him the liberty and impunity as well..,and the other sound was of her agonizing screams of pain and horror..
Both the scenes though totally disconnected but still both so intricately connected.. Both stem from same mentality...same school of thought.. Woman is weak.. She needs to be subjugated.. To be kept under leash by force if need be.. She needs to be shown her place.. How dare she look up.. How dare she show any guts? How can she dare to think or raise her head even ?
She is also the easiest victim of any kind of orchestrated violence or aggression be it domestic or communal .. She is the most natural and logical prey...... One line which stands out to me from both the scenes - " show her , her place.. How dare she! " it is this mentality which forms the crux of most of the violent crimes against women. And it's also the sense of impunity which the present laws give to culprits towards these violent acts be it domestic violence / marital rape or rapes under communal fury...most of them go unreported or unpunished .. Adding up to the sense of empowerment and emboldening to the serial offenders.. And dismal acceptance of her subjugated and despairing existence is by default forced on her ...the
Scene 1-A woman caught in a communal mob.. A mob formed of so called her own people.. Of so called her own...-
The guys who were in the front kept on hitting on her more ferociously ...the blows were landing not just on her face and abdomen but on her psyche too.... They kept on saying " how dare u look up.. How dare she look in our eyes? Look down .. Neeche dekh" they yelled...she looked at all of them .. Some familiar faces in the mob.. Some of them were her neighbours.. Some her schoolmates.. Some were even her childhood playmates.. All were apne ..,but all seemed to be strangers to her then...She had readied herself for the worst.. Had told herself .. This is it.. She will be gangraped here.. Maybe killed or brutally traumatized ...then killed.. That's it.. But then she told herself" I will not beg the monsters for mercy".. No I will not beg them .. No.. " She raised her head and looked straight into thier eyes without flinching.. With each blow ..she never begged just kept looking into thier eyes.. That irked them a lot.. They couldn't take it.. They wanted to see her break down.. To beg for mercy..her raised head made them even more angry.. Angry on her jurrat... Some one yelled " show the bitch her place"..,she whispered to herself " my place? .. What's my place? And why? Just because I am a woman .. A woman who dares to raise her head... And to stand courageously for a fair cause.?? Is that my fault ? " she whispered to herself..and braced herself for more blows..
Scene 2--
He is a typical monsterous chauvinist kind of husband,,,He likes woman to be in purdah.. No work allowed to her.. his gutsy wife though wears a burqa.. But dared to work without informing him as she needs some money for her kids and she likes to work too.. The day he comes to know.. He says nothing.. There is a chilling silence...,.They have 8-15 yr old kids.. He takes her quietly in the bedroom .. Asks the terrified kids to sit in living room.. Quietly and not utter a word.. And then in broad daylight in her own home .. The woman is raped brutally by her own husband as a punishment for daring to work without his consent.. The camera is only focussing on the kids faces sitting in living room who can hear the horrifying screams of their mother from inside but can't do anything..the dents of trauma on the psyche of the kids are almost visually visible.... There is a mute sense of spectatorship and acceptance engraved both in audience and even in the victim herself for this brutality.. After all he is her husband.. There are only two sounds coming from the room one is his ferocious yells " how dare u ? How dare u take a decision on ur own? Will show u ur place...The law gives him the liberty and impunity as well..,and the other sound was of her agonizing screams of pain and horror..
Both the scenes though totally disconnected but still both so intricately connected.. Both stem from same mentality...same school of thought.. Woman is weak.. She needs to be subjugated.. To be kept under leash by force if need be.. She needs to be shown her place.. How dare she look up.. How dare she show any guts? How can she dare to think or raise her head even ?
She is also the easiest victim of any kind of orchestrated violence or aggression be it domestic or communal .. She is the most natural and logical prey...... One line which stands out to me from both the scenes - " show her , her place.. How dare she! " it is this mentality which forms the crux of most of the violent crimes against women. And it's also the sense of impunity which the present laws give to culprits towards these violent acts be it domestic violence / marital rape or rapes under communal fury...most of them go unreported or unpunished .. Adding up to the sense of empowerment and emboldening to the serial offenders.. And dismal acceptance of her subjugated and despairing existence is by default forced on her ...the
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