The story goes like this – an innocent, harmless girl of only 12 years of age is brutally raped by 30 – we repeat, 30 – fully grown men, only to be outcast in the society, with no justice met and only to be humiliated through out her life, in her society. Except, this isn’t a story. This may be one to you, but the girl named Purnima Rani, who is now 25 years of age, lives with the horrors of that disastrous day till today. Hushed by power, haunted by memory and shamed by fellow citizens – is that the consequence of rape, a victim must face?

Purnima and her family lives in Bangladesh. At that tender age of 12, more than 30 men – a few her neighbors even – barged into her house, beat her mother and sister, violated Purnima outside the house and left them helpless in the midst of sectarian violence. Purnima was found three hours later, unconscious in the middle of a field. None of the rapists – even the ones who were recognized suffered the appropriate consequence for their actions. Now, at the age of 25, she is striving to make a living, trying to avoid judgement and live a honest life. But the ghosts that haunt her from the incident are not just the memories, but the people around her as well. After public shaming through a fake Facebook profile with her name and photos, and portraying her as a sex worker, Purnima’s life got only worse. Unaware of the online mayhem, she was confronted by colleagues, friends and others about her lifestyle. The rape was a violation from her end for most people - a fault of hers more than anybody else's. She was no longer pure and the Facebook profile smothered her identity with horrors of lies – invoking humiliating confrontations from “Have you no shame?” to “How much do you charge?”. Even after being aware of the cyber crime, actions haven’t been taken to recognize the brains behind the Identity Infringement. Surrounded by eyes that question her modesty and fail to understand the horrors that follow her, she must face her trauma in her day to day life.

Ask yourself – is this fair to a being who has suffered at the hands of corrupt minds?

Purnima Rani now seeks shelter in another country. She has openly requested for her to be taken away from the society that fails to understand her innocence, and that still persists on shaming her for actions that were not in her hands. The atrocities of victim shaming must end – where ever and whenever. And we say, it begins with Purnima Rani.

We propose that Purnima Rani receives understanding and support in India – devoid of judgement and an opportunity to begin anew. We propose that we as a nation show her kindness and reassurance to a girl whose innocence was stolen from her, a girl who never found faith and consolation in her home, a girl who did not ask for any of the humiliation she had to face. Let us open our hands to give her a new home and invite her to live a life that is devoid of judgement and shame. 

 

Raksharamaiah