Times of India of 22.4.2018 had a news-item under the caption`Rapists should cover faces ,not us: Survivors, on the front page.In the same,it reported about a raging debate among the girls & women of a NGO based in Dehradun.& the debate is on`Should news reports take the Jammu girls name & show her face,if her parents agree to it?For that matter,should rape-survivors with the permission of the guardians,if they are minors-come out in the open with their stories.No name changed,no face blurred?
Almost all the girls/women,present were unanimous in their opinion`Why should we be asked to hide our identities when we have not committed any crime?shouldn`t those who are committing rapes be the ones covering their faces?
I feel, this new thinking/lines of argument needs strong support from all sections of the society including guardians & the parents of the hapless girls/women?
What is their fault? Their fault to my mind,is, that they are born in a society/system which does not have enough safe guards to protect the honour of their daughters/sisters et al.It keeps on debating & debating what to do,what laws to have & so on & so on.Infact, the FACES of the rapists need to be BLACKENED & shown around in their localities/cities/media/TV channels etc. Besides, strict punishments by fast-track courts. Let this be the scourge for RAPES. It will then, to my mind, tend to end in our society.
Let the matter be debated in schools,colleges,IITs,IIMS ,by NGOs & various fora to create awareness about the misdeeds of the RAPISTs.
Hapless girls are not to walk/live in shame.It is the rapists & their parents who need to be accountable to the society/system
Vijay K. SalujaDirector
Giraffe Heroes India
www.giraffe.org/global/india
Past President – IIT Delhi Alumni Association