EDITORIAL | Hathras rape case: 2020 and still no end to rape culture in India

FROM THE EDITOR's DESK

Women in Uttar Pradesh continue to live in fear despite the state government repeatedly assuring that it would protect the “daughters of the state.”

But why shouldn’t they? The September 14 Hathras Gang-Rape Case rocked the entire nation and raised several questions on the safety and security of women belonging to minority communities including alleged attempts made by police to cover up the issue by forcing the family to cremate the victim’s body in the dead of night.

Why were the police in such a hurry to cremate the body? Who forced them to do it? Who are they trying to protect? Why this partiality?

These are but a few of the questions that demand an explanation.

It is a grim reminder of the Nirbhaya Rape Case - the brutality of which is enough to send shivers down anybody’s spine.

The autopsy report of the Hathras Gang-Rape victim shows that the victim suffered injuries to the cervical spine (neck) resulting from blunt force trauma. According to the report, the perpetrators had also tried to asphyxiate the victim and left her for dead. Having suffered multiple injuries, she passed away in Safdarjung Hospital on a Tuesday morning, September 29.

While in the hospital, the victim said that two men had raped her while the other two fled when they saw her mother coming to her aid.

The video, which has gone viral on social media, brought about cries of outrage from citizens across the country.

Though the Yogi Adityanath government had assured to provide compensation, including a government job for a relative from the family, the fact remains that losing an innocent life because of injustice and narrow-mindedness can never be justified.

The caste system in India is still prevalent in many parts of the country, especially in rural areas.

Protect the upper caste and overlook the lower caste, no matter how heinous the crime is.

Irrespective of whether we like it, this system will continue to persist as it is ingrained in the minds of the people.