Women in India, for ages now, have been bearing the brunt of age-old and regressive rituals. From changing one’s surname to marrying a tree, having visible signs of being married, paying dowry, and the list goes on. However, with the turn of the century these ancient traditions should’ve been buried deep into our desh ki mitti. Instead, things seem to be getting worse.
Last week, Mumbai made the news when a man brutally molested a woman on a local train and seemingly nobody came to her help. And before we’re able to wash off those horrifying images from our minds, a similar incident has recently occurred in Assam.
According to NDTV, a woman was harshly assaulted by a group of men when she was going with her male friend to a medical center. This shocking incident happened at the Goalpara district in Assam.
“This is a case of moral policing. What we have come to know is that the woman’s marriage has been fixed. She was going somewhere with her male friend yesterday, when some youths attacked them. The youths mainly targeted the woman.”
Apparently, the 22-year old’s marriage was fixed. So, when these delinquents saw her with another man they took it upon themselves to ask her about her relationship with that individual.
But, the 12 of them were arrested by the police, since asking those questions isn’t any of their business and physically harassing someone is still considered a crime.
However, what’s worrisome is that nobody came to the aid of this man and woman even though it was taking place in broad daylight and on a busy street. Women rights activist Jaynie Sangma from Meghalaya told NDTV,
“See the gruesome way she was beaten. It is clear from the video that people were slapping her, kicking her in full public view and no one came forward to her.”
It’s painful to watch these spineless goons kick and punch these helpless people for no reason at all. And, considering how Assam has come under fire before for this kind of lawlessness, it’s even more gut-wrenching to see how the situation there has worsened.
Watch the video here:
Warning: Disturbing video. Viewer discretion advised.
We’re living in 2018 and it’s utterly baffling to see a group of young men considering the association between two unmarried people to be immoral. In addition to that, as the state of judicial authorities have steadily declined, we can see the lack of fear in them while committing these heinous acts. Is this really how we’re going to go forward as a country and as a society? Is this how we’re going to continue treating women and people in general?