PRESIDENT MURMU REACTS TO KOLKATA DOCTOR RAPE-MURDER CASE: ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’
By Nityaasini Sivagami
KOLKATA, INDIA 28TH AUGUST : A women with a voice is by definition, a strong woman. President Droupadi Murmu demanded objective and truthful reflection on Wednesday, denouncing the “collective amnesia” of Indian society on the crimes against women. Murmu’s response coincided with nationwide demonstrations against the growing number of crimes against women, particularly the Kolkata rape-murder case. ( Source Hindustan Times )
“The country is in shock following the horrific rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata. When I learned about it, I was appalled and outraged. Even more disheartening is the knowledge that it was just one instance of a similar kind and that there have been other crimes against women. While citizens, doctors, and students demonstrated in Kolkata, criminals continued to hunt in other areas. Such crimes cannot be tolerated in any civilized society where daughters and sisters are concerned. I’m sure as hell not to be angry with the country as I am.
The most important thing that needs to happen is objective, sincere introspection. The moment has arrived for our society to pose some challenging questions to itself. Where did we go wrong? And how may the errors be eliminated? The half of our population cannot live in the same freedom as the other half until the solution to that question is determined” she stated. ( Source Hindustan Times )
“We had experienced that part ourselves in December 2012 when a young woman was killed after being gang-raped. Shock and wrath were present. We were resolved to prevent another Nirbhaya from suffering the same fate. We planned and came up with tactics. However, as long as any woman feels unsafe in her living or working environment, our duty is not yet complete” she stated.( Source Hindustan Times )
“Only a handful of incidents garnered national attention in the twelve years since that tragedy in the nation’s capital, and even those were quickly forgotten as social protests fizzled out, burying these incidents deep and inaccessible into social memory, to be remembered only when another heinous crime occurs. This collective amnesia, I fear, is as much of a nuisance as that mindset I mentioned, because history often hurts, and societies that are afraid to face history use collective amnesia to bury their heads in the sand, a la the proverbial ostrich. Now is the moment not only to confront history head-on, but also to delve into our souls and examine the pathology of crime against women.” she stated. ( Source Hindustan Times )
“I firmly believe that the memory of such criminality should not be allowed to be overtaken by amnesia. So that we can stop this perversion from the start, let’s address it holistically. We can only accomplish this if we honor the victims’ memories by fostering a societal culture of remembrance, which will serve to both remind us of our past transgressions and fortify us to be more watchful going forward.” she stated ( Source Hindustan Times )
We owe it to our girls to take down the obstacles in their way so they can overcome their fear. Then, at the following Raksha Bandhan, we may all come up with a firm response to the innocent question of those kids. Together, let’s declare that enough is enough. ( Source Hindustan Times )
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