Rape: Justice delayed is justice denied

As the two more gruesome rape cases have surfaced in Telangana, the time has come for the nation to hang its head in shame once more. I feel deeply agonised every time I think of such incidents as I render my services at a local women cell. Our organisation is always ready to help women in distress. I love that I get to dedicate part of my life to work in this NGO and help save girls from this monsterous face of our society.

A major part of my duty is to redress the complaints of women who are at times tortured by their parents-in-law for not bringing in a sufficient dowry. I also handle the cases of matrimonial disputes between the couples.

A few months ago, I had to deal with a case that gave me many sleepless nights. A mother approached us along with her twenty-five-year-old daughter. It was not the case of any marital discord. The girl was not married. But the mother had complaint against her own daughter.

The despondent mother shared that their family had found a very suitable match for their daughter but she was not at all willing to get spliced. When our team engaged the girl in our counselling sessions, all of us were left speechless and stunned.

The girl never wanted to marry and had decided to remain single for the rest of her life. On further exploration, a shocking tale began to unfold. The girl was unwilling to marry not because of any professional aspirations. Neither did she speak against the institution of marriage in some a liberal voice.

After the sincerest coaxing by the psychiatrist member of our team, the girl expressed her extreme hatred for marriage. Clueless of her stern dislike against marriage, we attempted to dig deeper where lay the secret of her aversion. Breaking down in the pool of tears, she harked back to her childhood days when she was repeatedly molested and raped by one of her own uncles.

All those years she could never muster up the courage to expose him. She had only told us that he was no more alive now and she felt no fear from him. These days she comes for her regular counselling sessions and is showing the signs of improvement.

But certainly, the gory act of rape leaves life-long scars on the psyche of the victim and ruins her inner equanimity. Why do our courts to law take a long period of time in delivering justice? By prolonging the rapes cases is a question our civilized society asks in unison. Someone has rightly said that justice delayed is justice denied.