Just like every day she went to school but never returned back home. A cloud of mystery engulfed the small town of Kurseong when a 16 year old Akriti went missing on 16 November 2016. Exactly after one month after her disappearance a dead body was found near Karbir tea estate, Kurseong. The dead body was later identified as Akriti by her family. Three men were arrested and are still in police custody. The dead body was sent for post-mortem but the report could not prove whether she was raped or not prior to the murder.
This is not just a story of Akriti. There are many Akriti who have been the victims of such inhumane act. Recently, a girl was raped and murdered near Dagapur, Siliguri. This was followed by the same kind of incident that happened in Alipurduar. It is said according to the statistics that in every 20 minutes a girl is raped in India. Each and every day we hear such kind of gender based violence happening in and around us. Be it acid attack, eve teasing, dowry death, rape etc. The most brutal being the Delhi Rape case of 2012. Some cases goes unheard because the victim or the victim’s family are afraid to come out with such things as the society believes it brings shame to the family. Laws have been made to end such kind of discrimination against women but these laws are not being able to totally end such violence. The most vital reason for this kind of injustice is Patriarchy, where women are regarded as inferior to men. Victim blaming is another thread of the patriarchal society. Sometimes fingers are pointed to the victim’s character or her dress.
Just punishing the culprit can never be the solution. Rather, we should work for building a society where there is no place for Gender based violence. Gender sensitization programs should be arranged regularly. Let us make the world a better place to live in. Let us fight against the injustice and atrocities that the women are facing all over the world.
