Justice Procrastinated… Not Denied

India- the land of Goddesses known for its varied cultural systems where millions of people worship hundreds of deities, primarily Goddesses, forgets that in every woman lies a Goddess who ought to be respected. We may observe fasts and performpujain the name of Goddesses but in doing so the women, their self respect and self esteem is all bypassed, stamped over, shattered and eventually broken. In this patriarchal society we have a section of women who fear men and live at their mercy thereby making the men believe that whatsoever they do will be tolerated and not protested.

Rape, the crime that hits every woman’s self respect, has now become one of the crimes that we hear of everyday. The crime goes unreported as it is shameful for a girl to be raped but not at all shameful for the one who commits the crime. The society we live in and the kind of environment it houses makes it impossible for a rape victim to live her life in utmost normalcy, then why does this very society house the perpetrator and provide shelterfor the heinous crime that he commits and disgracefully has no regret for the same?

In this kind of darkness and a gloomy environment, we see a ray of light and hope brightly shining in one of the largest states in India, i.e. Uttar Pradesh after the election of its new Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanathji. As soon as he was appointed he changed the belief system of the state and was on a mission to cut down the plight of women.

Adityanathji had issued orders to constitute ananti-Romeo squadin 11 districts of the Lucknow zone to prevent molestation and harassment cases. This squad was launched in a bid to check incidents of eve-teasing and passing of comments on the girls and women of Uttar Pradesh that had made their daily life impossible.

Another surprise that came through after the election was the arrest of a rape accused who was being tracked down since 8 long years.

In a brutal assault in 2008 allegedly over a property dispute, a woman in her thirties was gang-raped at her village in Raebareli and acid was thrown on her abdomen and private parts. The three men were arrested then but till date no action was taken which proves why this case is held up as a perfect example of lawlessness on the previous Government’s watch.

The victim’s family says that it had received constant threats over the years as a part of an aggressive attempt to withdraw the case due to which she, a Dalit, had begged for security but was not given the same.

The most recent attack took place on the victim when she was returning after a visit to Unchahar (around 100 Km from Lucknow), where her husband and children live.

For many years, nothing was heard of the case.The woman had been fighting for justice for a very long time and with the arrival of the new CM she was assured of the same. The CM declared Rs.1 lakh compensation for the woman and ordered the police to arrest the attackers at the earliest. There weretwo arrestsmade for the same.

This woman needs to be saluted for her undying courage to stand up against the unjust acts that were committed and also to fight against a system that procrastinated this case which required immediate attention.

In this day of building profits for the state and making one’s own mark, CM Yogi Adityanathji has paved the way for the rape victims and for all those whose cases stand pending. He throws light on the fact that the state has to work in accordance to the laws to bring home justice at the earliest.

Opinions expressed are of the writer. This blog was first published on Safecity.

Krishna Thakkar, a blogger for Safecity, is a second year BLS student from Pravin Gandhi College of Law andstands bywriting to express her thoughts. She is a creative writer as well andbelieves that we, all as humans, perceive differently.