Parents struggle for Justice
03 Feb 2010 14:22:23 GMT
Source: DanChurchAid - Denmark
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this
article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are
the author's alone.
Dalit women are in high risk of sexual assaults from upper-caste men,
who are rarely prosecuted. The photo shows a Dalit woman from Tamil
Nadu, who is not related to the story. The characters in the story
chose to be anonymous. Photo: Paul Madsen
Thirteen years old, Supriya Jatav was working in the fields with her
parents early one morning. Harvest season had started and all the
members of each family were working in the fields. Supriya was sent
back mid-morning to take care of the household chores with her mother.
Having cooked a meal for her husband, Supriya’s mother left for the
fields again, not knowing that it was the last she was to see her
daughter.
Sometimes later Supriya went to a field close-by to get some fuel to
make the afternoon meal. It is here that she was attacked. Another
young girl in the village witnessed the incident itself. She informed
the others, who ran to intervene, but by then it was too late. Supriya
rushed back home and hung herself, unable to bear the shame and
humiliation. Supriya Jatav committed suicide on 4th April, 2009.
Supriya’s home is a dilapidated house in a low caste Jatav village
surrounded on all sides by upper caste Jat villages. Her mother sits
in silence veiled and softly weeping. “She was our only daughter.
She was very responsible. Her loss can never be substituted,� says
Sheela, crouched on the floor.
Fighting for justice â€" alone
Fighting for Dalit rights
Society for Depressed People for Social Justice (DMKS), DanChurch
Aid’s partner in Rajasthan is an advocacy and resource centre for
Dalit Human Rights. The Centre for Dalit Rights as is popularly known
reports on cases of human rights violation on Dalits across Rajasthan.
It provides counseling and legal aid for victims and support to take
legal action against the perpetrators. The organization has a number
of lawyers in their panel providing free legal services to the
victims. I n 2008, DMKS was involved in fact finding in 120 severe
cases of atrocities and achieved success in 234 cases of violence
ranging from rape of minor girls to prohibition to use public road.
Squatting on his haunches Bairman Jatav, Supriya’s father talks
about his struggle to fight this case. He says that a charge sheet had
been filed and that all the three boys have been put in detention.
“I am going to fight for justice till my last breath. I don’t care
if there is no one to support me, I will still fight for what is
right. We are poor people. Had my daughter died of some disease I
would have accepted it. Even now people tell me that I should let go -
that is she is gone, and that I must put the matter to rest. You see,
everyone is scared of ‘them’. I know my daughter will never come
back, but I want the guilty punished. This is my struggle alone and I
will fight it through,� says Bairman Jatav. More and more women
gather around Sheela. Each one of them has something to say. Some
break down and start crying. Intriguing, they vehemently deny facing
any kind of violence against Dalit women in the community. This is
when the crime records reveal the high incidences of rape of Dalit
women by upper caste men - nationwide three every hour, according to
some sources, not taking into account that most rapes go unreported,
and only a tiny fraction of the rapists are actually sentenced. Bairam
breaks the silence, “I have had to fight this case alone, and I have
no support.� He tells that his own people don’t support him.
Instead his Dalit neighbours tell the upper caste Jats about all his
legal actions. “People here are both scared of the upper castes and
dependent on them for their livelihood. They go to the homes of the
upper castes to work and then they tell the Jats all my moves. What
can I do? Today it is my daughter they are foul-mouthing, but tomorrow
- god forbid! - it could be their own daughters who are raped! But
they don’t think like that. There is no unity. Each person is taking
care of his own survival,� says Bairman.
People point fingersSheela breaks down speaking about her life and the
humiliation she has to bear. “People point fingers. They say my
daughter was characterless. I have to hear this slandering every
single day. My two sons go to school, and there so many horrible
things are being said about my daughter and our family. When will all
this end? “ The crowd is silent, but Bairam gathers strength to
speak: “Tell me which parent will not take action to bring their
child to the right path, if they know they are straying. Today instead
of supporting me, these people are pointing fingers at my daughter’s
character. Tell me: did she deserve this?� Names of victim and
family changed to protect their identity By Priyanka Mukherjee,
Documentation Officer, DanChurchAid, New Delhi India
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not
of Reuters. ]
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