Rape fears fuel anxiety

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The memories of the horrific gangrape of December 16 in Delhi are still alive when another gangrape happened, this time in Mumbai. The recent rape of a 22-year-old photojournalist shocked almost everybody.

It was just 6.30 pm when the girl, who was out on an assignment at the Shakti Mills compound with one of her colleagues was brutally raped by five men.
According to reports, the girl, who is working as an intern with an English magazine, is reflecting toughness and strength, and wants to get back to work soon. But not everybody is as strong. The entire nation is outraged at the incident. From taking to the streets to protest to posting messages on social networking sites, they are doing everything. All these incidents scare those girls who step out for work, irrespective of the time.
Surabhi Verma, a final-year student of Lady Shri Ram College, says that earlier her parents used to be worried about her when she was out till late. “But since the December 16 rape incident, they are concerned even during the day. I don’t blame them for incessantly calling me to check where I am even during my classes. The system is to be blamed for that,” says Surabhi, who has to keep informing her parents almost every hour that she is fine. “The Mumbai rape is going to make situation worse for girls like me, who want to live life independently,” she says.
Most of the girls who have chosen a profession that requires them to be out till late in the evening can’t do anything but crib about the restrictions put on them by their parents, husbands and in-laws. “Everybody wants to protect us. After the December 16 rape and a series of other rape cases after that, my husband has become extra cautious. While he makes sure to drop me and pick me up from office when I don’t get an office cab, he has also become very particular about where our five-year-old daughter is going,” says Apeksha Gupta, an MNC executive, who has to work night shifts.
Now even early evenings have become late for many girls, who earlier enjoyed late night gatherings.
Isha Mishra, a second year student of Physical Sciences, Gargi College, who is a member of the film club of the college, says that the chain of rape cases have changed many things for them. She, along with other girls from the film society, has recently made a film and it was difficult to shoot it, as there was a deadline for many girls to return home latest by 6 pm. “We can’t live in fear all the time. We can’t rely on somebody else for our safety. This has to change and the government should take strict actions against the rapists,” says Isha.
Shilpi Marwah, one of the leading artistes of the Asmita Theatre Group that stages revolutionary plays, thinks change is on its way. “These cases scare us but then they have also brought us together. The way people have been protesting today has never happened earlier. Almost everybody came on the street in December to demand justice. There should be a system in place that scares the rapists,” she says.