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The death of the fearless..

On 16th December, the capital woke up to yet another gang rape news.  Only this time it was not a 'just another rape' news. The victim was not only raped by 6 men, she was also brutally assaulted, with an iron rod, that was inserted in her vagina, thus rupturing her body, her soul.

That 23 year old girl, was accompanied by her male friend, and went for a movie. Not finding an auto, she boarded the cursed bus, where the incident happened. What was going through the minds of those bloody men? Even animals don't behave like this. Her friend was assaulted for trying to protect her, and she was raped in a moving bus. The bus apparently circled the same area 5-6 times, the police didn't find anything wrong. She was thrown out of the bus- NAKED, on the road, until few people passing by, reported the matter, and threw a shawl over her writhing body.

When we open the paper in the morning, we always have a news posted about rape, from an infant to an old woman, they are all out there. So, how come, the nation protested the rape this time? This was not the first time a gang rape was reported, and Delhi - a shameful capital, has the highest number of rapes, molestation, harassment, teasing etc.. so, why was  'Nirbhaya's rape a big deal? 

It was a big deal because, the b******s who did it, had surpassed all forms of cruelty. It made every woman sit up, stand up, walk and shout out. So loudly, that the voices pierced through the painted walls of the government. Tear gas shells, water cannons, lathicharge could not hush them up. 

Nirbhaya until 16th December was just another young woman. She did not hold any importance to a common man except her family and her circle of friends, but, on that fateful day, she became the agony that every woman could relate to, she became the tear of every woman's eyes, who in some way or the other have been fighting to save their identity, their spirit, their sanity - from their fathers, their husbands, their inlaws, their peers, their co-workers, their brothers,- quietly going about their routine life, from a cup of tea in the morning to locking the main door at night, women are snubbed at, jeered at, taunted at. She is humiliated at every given opportunity, her voices are overpowered with screams, because the chauvinistic husband wouldn't let her have her say. Why? 

The fault lies at the core, the root. When a girl is born, she is considered to be a liability, yes, you can rule out certain exceptional fathers, who never thought of their daughters as one, but, those exceptions are less than a handful. She is told from day one, that she will be married off, and there will be an expense. Guilty at her father's expenditure on her wedding, she goes through all sorts of nonsense at her inlaws place. The wedding of the daughter becomes the sole agenda for the parents. Why? Empower her, educate her, tell her not to take crap from anyone, being compassionate doesn't mean submitting yourself to free will of your husband/boyfriend. They are asked not to venture out after dark, not because of the fear of assault, it's more to do with the fear of society, fear of norms, in which a rape victim is considered to be at fault and not the rapist, she is a liability remember! Who will marry a girl who has sinned? Who will want a daughter in law who is not pure?

We all remember very clearly that Sita had to give a test to prove her chastity, nobody remembers that it was Ram who banished her. Thats where the problem is, we expect the women to be Sitas, thus giving permission to all the rams over there to do whatever they want, because as I said earlier, it was not Ravan who caused pain. 

That day when Nirbhaya died, she had formed a bond with every woman on this earth, as there were women who cried, they cried out for their own sufferings also. People lit candle for her soul, and she lit a fire in every woman's soul, body and mind. RIP Nirbhaya. Wherever you are, I hope you find yourself in a beautiful, serene place.

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