Stolen lives

The newspaper headlines read “A 27 year old woman raped by 7 city taxi drivers in Bangalore University in front of her two children”. I felt pity, shame, anger, rage, helplessness as I read through the headline. I have a numb feeling in my heart which seems to have intensified since I read the article.

I can’t seem to think of the mental agony & anguish that the woman and her children have gone through, are going through and will go through. The scar left behind in the minds of these three innocent victims seems to be everybody’s worst nightmare.

Here are few of the many dimensions that flashed through my mind as I read the headline.

1. Someone being sexually molested is one of the most heinous crimes that can be committed against any individual, because the mental trauma suffered by the victim lasts forever and longer.
2. To see your own mother lose her sanctity, you must be the most cursed offspring. It is beyond my comprehension to even understand what must be going on in those tender minds.
3. With lot of difficulty I can somehow come to terms with the fact that one man can be overcome by his hormones. But what defies all logic how all the 7 opportunists could lose their commonsense.

Men are defined to be strong willed with iron determination. But this seems to be contradicted with examples like the one above. Some of the soul shaking tales are

• A 3 year old girl being raped by her own father.

• A pregnant woman raped in front of her husband at knife point.

It seems very obvious that no one is safe from the incorrigible lust of man. I think these incidents are fuelled by the fact that our punishments are not effective enough to discourage such acts of brutality. If I had the power to change the punishment awarded to rapists I would

• Make a distinct pockmark on the face of such criminals. So that every one knows that this man is a rapist and can be treated so.
• His privates made unusable. This would make everybody think a 100 times if they want a couple of minutes of pleasure or no pleasure for the rest of their lives.

I guess no amount of money or moral support is going to help them. The only thing that would help them little would be world class counseling. My prayers are with the lady and her two kids along with the 3 year old mentioned.