Have you wondered reading the morning newspaper how on earth certain incidents could have taken place?
Well, I, too, did not know how to react when news of a minor girl being raped by 17 men in a gated community for nearly six months broke.
Apart from being deeply concerned about her, I was also thinking of how much torture she must have endured during the period and how she would wipe away that gruesome memory which has tarnished her beautiful childhood.
No sooner than that, the news of a pregnant goat who died in Haryana pops up. The reason? She was gangraped by eight men. I seriously do not understand how sex maniacs like these could have sunk to this level.
If one part of the male community is like this, then there is a group that lynches a person if they rob food or are found with a cow. Do you remember the Kerala incident?
A shabbily dressed tribal, Madhu, was tied with his own lungi and a mob of angry men thrashed him hard and even took selfies with him, before the police took him away. The poor youth who was just 27, died on the way to hospital. His crime? He stole some food to satisfy his hunger.
There is another incident of a man who was lynched for stealing a cow, whereas, in reality, he had just bought it from a trade fair and was walking it back home.
The main reason I want to point out by bringing up these news items is that some men do not realise that some crimes can be taken lightly and some need to be punished severely. When I read news on crime against women in recent times, I wonder why rapists and jilted lovers who throw acid on girls don’t anger the men.
I understand there is a court and rules, etc. Well, it is the same in the case of lynching for stealing food or walking a cow. I am not saying men should take the law into their own hands. But for some men it seems stealing food is a sin and walking a cow is a crime, but molesting someone, whether it is a minor or an animal is brushed away.