Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity. The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

If you don't create change, change will create you. Change starts when someone sees the next step and the first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance. Many fine things can be done in a day if you don't always make that day tomorrow. You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.

Sometimes it's the smallest decisions with larger aims that can change the lives of many. If our attempts can at least become a spark. We are really grateful and the TEAM can proudly proclaim ‘MISSION ACCOMPLISHED’.

If you can LEND A HELPING HAND for the advancement of our country and its people be part of our ENDEAVOR.


Sunday, February 20, 2011

'TEARFUL ADIEU'


PASSENGERS, ATTENTION PLEASE— Train no: 6570 LIFELINE EXPRESS has arrived at platform no: 3---- ARE YOU TAKING THE RISK TO GET IN?

By:  K.K , Jithin Raghavan & Arjun.R.Shankar

 
 “While a murderer destroys the physical frame of the victim, a rapist degrades and defiles the soul of a helpless female."--- Justice Arjit Pasayat


In Kerala, recently, a girl called Soumya was raped and she succumbed to the injuries sustained during the violent episode. The 23 year old lady was first pushed out of the running train next to the tracks by a male assailant and then raped by him No one could save her. As if a testimonial to Kerala being the land where women are still finding it hard to travel at night, Sowmya took the long walk out of life. The media said she was “brutally” raped, but such adjectives are omitted because we fail to understand if there is any rape that isn’t brutal!! In a traditional matrilineal society like Kerala with high education levels, this incident has come with a rude shock. The remorseless perpetrator will be behind the bars, but the scars will take a long time to heal.

Readers may be wondering as to why this is coming so many days past that tragic day. Our motive is simple.  It is a wake-up call!! For about a week after the issue, people were enraged and sentimental about the fate of Soumya. The media and the blogs all over were buzzing with people strongly voicing their concerns and venting out their feelings. There were discussions by experts and tearful “Facebook updates” by the common man. And when all was said and done, with no page left unturned, people started losing interest. In the words of the Coke and Pepsi generation, all the fizz was lost. Every single time there is a tragedy, this is exactly what happens. 

This article isn’t yet another reconstruction of the events of Soumya’s tragic death.

What came as a surprise was leading women welfare organizations and individuals blaming it on the mentality of men as such; the way a woman is looked upon by a man. Somehow I was reminded of the clichéd rotten apple. Even if there are hundreds of thousands of men who respect women to the core of their hearts, it only takes a few Govindachaamis to tarnish the image of every single male. Being men who respects a lot of women, for their abilities and talents, and not at all based on their sex, we cannot help, but to disagree to the gross injustice of this allegation against men as such. Nor is rape a crime witnessed only in developing and under-developed countries where women are undermined by their male counterparts and even their own families. (a trend that is slowly changing!) Even in the developed nations this dreaded crime is oft reported.

Our collective conscience drives us into words every time a tragedy befalls. But, somehow, we are only moved into words and never into action. And, if ever there is some action taken, it is always violent and extreme measures that do not help any cause.

YES, YOU ARE THE ARCHITECT….

It's a fact that women need to travel with a little special care; horror stories do exist and women, taught to have a care in life in general, can toss cares to the wind and lose that finely tuned caution edge that they keep honed on their own city streets. Look and act confident. Be alert. Use common sense. Always stride along like you know where you're going. Don't slink, glancing furtively around you. Don't let all this scare you away from travel - you'll doubtless be perfectly safe. Being young and female is great - enjoy it!


This incident is a frightening wake-up call, and every woman and girl must meet reality head on and devise a personal safety plan that she can incorporate into her daily routine.  Several components are required to make a personal safety plan effective, which includes both physical and emotional decisions based on the comfort zone of the individual. Attitude, common sense, survival instinct and the motivation to fight back are all critical factors that need to be addressed on a very personal level. 

Madam, Why are you ALONE ???
There also has to be a firm conviction that developing an individual safety plan is as critical as having a disaster emergency kit in place. This belief is not only essential, it is crucial. A well defined personal safety plan is an option that can no longer be ignored. The veracity of living in a world full of economic duress, raging unemployment, relentless foreclosures, and social apathy from too much online networking and very little human interaction clearly defines that society is becoming an increasingly hostile environment to live in.  We need to accept it but understand that we DO have the power to prevent the chance of ever falling victim to a ruthless crime. Women and girls must have the strength and the determination to fight back against violence without fear, embarrassment or guilt. 

You don’t have to be ‘Super girl’ to defend yourself and win – awareness, preparedness, and a personal protection device will help you stay in control when circumstance puts you in a precarious situation.

We have come to terms with the fact that most of the politicians and administrators of this great nation are inefficient. And, moreover, even in countries where there are effective and committed people ruling, such crimes cannot be totally prevented. So do we just blame our government, lament about our fate, and do nothing? Do we just push such tragic mishaps out of our minds and go on with our comfortable lives? Or do we, as responsible citizens, ponder over the possible steps that we can take as an individual and strive hard to bring our thoughts into actions?  

We are over a billion in strength, but the commitment, passion and selfless efforts of few hundred is all that is required to make a huge difference! Even if we fail in our efforts, it will still be no less than a tribute to the souls of the numerous victims all over our nation.

 --Article is only complete with TEAM AKHSHAYAPATHRA's  RADIANT PLAN----- scroll down for that.

9 comments:

  1. hai.team akshayapathra this article has graet significance at the present scenario.and also none of the passengers in the train didnt try to stop the train.if anyone was ready to do that soumya wouldnt have brutally raped and killed....

    congrats for the akshyapathra team for publishing this article....

    ReplyDelete
  2. A very insightful article indeed, the trio did a good work! I did like the little chauvinistic flavour at a point and the turning back into saying we respect women!
    Taking the incident of Soumya, physical defense does not always work when you have a stronger male counter part to fight with. The lady did fight until she could. What women need is absolute common sense and a strategy devised in case she faces an unsafe situation. Rape is not an uncommon happening, it happens everywhere, some come into light and a large number is muted with power and fear of disgrace.

    Ladies, there is no guardian angel to protect u when u r molested, tortured or raped. If anyone can save you that is U! Simple devices that u use everyday can be used as your defense arms. Make sure that you carry a safety pin and keep it in a place u have easy access to, poking with a pin is no big deal but u must have the guts to do it on the face, nose and delicate places (poking on hands doesn’t help),use ur nails and fingers and poke in the eye, and the best defense device these days. PEPPER SPARY, make sure you have a pepper spray in your bag all the time! Protection is never gifted, you earn it!

    I disagree with the line quoted by the authors "a rapist degrades and defiles the soul of a helpless female”. I would like to point out that a victim may be degraded by body but never by heart and soul.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @REMYA : That’s true. I don’t want to substantiate or justify the statement as this is solely made by Justice Arjit Pasayat. Whatever is the distinction, he must have quoted this after a traumatic case and that definitely reflects the anguish of the Judge. Such assault’s on women is irreparable and the trauma which the women bear is inexplicable.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @remya
    first of all.. Thank you!
    before we get into defending urself with tooth and nail, being alone in the compartment of a train is not the wisest thing, be it a man or a woman!
    the primary thing that women should take care is to make sure that they are never alone in a situation and try as far as possible to stick to a group of ppl...
    if i ask women to stay safe late into the night i maybe termed a chauvinist.. bt if i urge women not to be alone at odd hours.. it is not coz i consider male sex to be more dominant.. but jus coz i love and respect women folk and dont want this happening ever again to yet another woman!

    and no! the solution to this is not fear! there is not doubt about that! but living an independent life should go hand in hand with being able to handle the responsibility of personal safety.. and that also includes avoiding the bravado of being alone in a situation where one may not be able to help themselves!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really liked the efforts put down by AKSHAYAPATHRA team. I would say the efforts should start from us to stop this kind of atrocities against women. We should be able to send a strong message that incidence like this will never happen again rather than asking women to be careful. Our try may not be very effective but am sure that the generations yet to come will instill it. Mentality of the society that we should not get ourselves into problems by intervening in mis happenings like this should change. I don't know about how much the past generation would take it but the future generations should never think like that and it should start from us(the present generation).@Remya : i don't think i personally know you but i cent percent agree to the last para of your comment.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @sid and Remya
    i dont agree with remya's last paragraph! that quote from the judge wasn't something that slipped out of his tongue.. it makes absolute sense..
    remya.. majority of rape victims who survive the incident recover from the physical blows sustained during the rape in a matter of time, but seldom do we find women who recover completely from the mental and psychological wounds inflicted upon them! try tellin a woman who has been raped that it was all physical...?? that all the cuts and bruises on her body will heal soon and then she will be back to being her normal self??

    a rape victim considers herself to be degraded and that is what the justice is referring to... i agree with remya that a woman who has been raped neednt consider herself tarnished, but in any nation around the world it would be a tough job convincing a woman that a part of her hasnt died when a man humilliated her violently and exploited her sexually!

    ReplyDelete
  7. @karthik: i agree with u about not staying alone in any place at any time..since it is hard to defend ourselves from our stronger counterparts..my mention to tiny strategies of defense is the only things a woman can do incase she is trapped in such a situation..
    @Mr/Miss Anonymous: A rape victim shall be broken,she shall consider herself half dead..but that needn't mean that atleast we the educated class should consider her degraded.A rape can never be physical, it is the worst crime u can do to a woman but how can that degrade a woman's character, especially when she was not at fault at all?Any human is degraded when he/she is lost by character..rape soils the body not the heart,soul and character of any female.

    More that 85% on Indian female children are sexually exploited before they even know what it is..60% of them have had complete inter-course as well.These children are not at any fault at all as they are unaware of what has been happening to them..we cannot let them think they are impure or degraded.I do not say this doesnt effect their life...everyone of them is broken when understand what has happened to them..some continue with the dirty life they have been pushed into..but most of them try to be strong and tell themselves we are not the ones to be punished..its the once who did it to us, and they in turn become strong and lead their lives.
    Should we consider them degraded??Even they are victims of rape..Why should they be degraded when they are not at fault..
    Virginity is not the ONLY element to purity!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. that anonymous was me... KK.. i dn knw how it got added as anonymous... anyways remya..the depth of ur feelings for women and passion with which u counter what i said is commendable.. but u still miss the point altogether... read the quote fully... murder is totally physical... can u say the same about a rape? m not talkin abt others considerin the victim to be degraded... that is just the result a society still living a century-old mindset... but even in countries whr ppl treat a woman who has been raped like any other woman and lets her live in peace, the victim oft doesnt consider the crime against her as purely physical! the degradation a woman faces at the hands of her assailant... that is de one de Justice is talkin abt... not the society considering the victim to be degraded... not the degradation of a woman's character remya.. but of her mind.. of how it shatters her soul... how she loses all the spirit of life... hope u understand what i mean!

    ReplyDelete
  9. It is an act of utter aggression not only on womanhood but on humanity as a whole.It is unfortunate that a minute's pleasure for a man was valued high above a human life.
    When buses of our land has conductors, It is unfair to expect railway passengers to take care of themselves. They are exposed to all the undesirable elements of society like beggars, eunuchs, and criminals? who shall keep them away from our trains?

    ReplyDelete