While the Nirbhaya, Kathua, Mandsaur and many other rape cases grabbed headlines, rape is a reality that half of our population lives with every day. The fear of a rapist lurking in the fields, on the way to school, when they go to relieve themselves or even in their own homes is omnipresent for women and girls in rural India. Rural Connection launched a campaign to highlight these cases – which failed to become headlines or hashtags – and in doing so, bring out the larger issues raised by so many individual cases. Join us in our campaign, Raktranjit – Bloodstains

Shabnam (not her real name) does not want to hide her name. After all, she says, she has not done anything wrong. If anyone should be hiding their name and face it should be her two tormentors. They are the ones who had barged into her home in the middle of the day and tried to rape her.

They are the ones who are threatening her with rape, who have made her life a living hell. They have curbed her freedom and condemned her to a life of virtual house arrest. But such is the irony of our society that the victim lives in jail-like conditions and the perpetrators roam free.

Shabnam is 16. She lives in a village in the Barabanki district, just 80 kms from Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow. She has no father. Her mother and brothers work as labourers. Her biggest fear today? Rape.

“I live in dread — afraid of being alone even for a moment. I fear that I may be raped at any time,” she says.

On January 11, 2018, she was home with her younger sister. “Two boys, who live in the village, forced their way into our home. Before I knew what was happening, they had muffled my screams with their hands. They tore off all my clothes. There was not a single part of me they had not scratched. My younger sister was screaming away in terror. Luckily, her screams attracted some villagers and the two boys ran away before they could rape me,” Shabnam tells Rural Connection.

But that was not the end of it. The trauma of the incident is still alive and Shabnam lives in perpetual dread. “Even though we filed an FIR and the boys were arrested, my troubles have not ended. They were in jail for only a month and are now out, roaming freely. Every time they see me, they pass obscene comments. They threaten me. They say that next time I will not be so lucky. They say next time they will definitely rape me,” says Shabnam.

Kismatul, Shabnam’s mother, says: “I have to go out to earn a livelihood. But my constant fear is what will happen to my girls. Now, we have started ensuring that at least one of my sons is at home at all times. We suffer because he cannot work and add to the family income. But we have to do this for the safety of my daughters.”

Though the family filed an FIR with the police, little came out of it. “The police did not file a case of assault. Despite a medical examination and the report clearly stating that Shabnam was attacked in such a brutal manner, the FIR did not recognise any of these crimes. But since the boys had been caught red-handed, the sections in the FIR pertain to forceful entry, intention to commit robbery and other minor charges. There is no mention of the sexual nature of the attack on Shabnam. This is a fit case for POCSO since she is a minor. But this was not done,” explains Shabnam’s lawyer, Kismat Ali.

Since they did not get much relief from the police, Shabnam and her mother have taken the matter directly to the court where they are seeking that the case may be treated under the appropriate sections of the law.

“The two boys keep threatening me. They say they will kidnap me and sell me off. Their taunts and threat haunt me wherever I go,” says Shabnam.

Kismat Ali adds, “They threaten us with money and muscle power. They say we will not be able to harm them in any way. They are very powerful. Every time we have to go to court, it is a challenge. We cannot go to Barabanki alone. We have to plead with people from the village to accompany us as we are scared that these people can harm us on the way to the court or even in court.”

Rural Connection spoke to Renu Mishra, executive director of legal aid organisation AALI. Talking about the increasing rate of crimes against women, she said, “In the past 10 years, we have seen a 500% rise in the cases of crimes against children. There has also been an increase in the number of cases registered regarding crimes against women. But there has been no improvement in the way the laws meant to help minor and women victims are implemented.”

She further explains, “We have seen that the focus of the police is not on registering cases and investigating them and bringing the accused to justice. Rather, they are focussing on getting the victims to compromise with the accused. Section 21 B of POCSO and Section 166 A of the IPC clearly states that if a police officer is found wanting in writing the FIR or in the investigation, an FIR can be filed against them. Yet burking continues.”