BHUBANESWAR/AHMEDABAD: He's just four and is lost and bewildered. Not only is Raghav in a new school in a strange place, he's away from the fond gaze of his doting grandparents. For no fault of his.
In 2007, his mother Meera was raped in Khaprakhol area of Balangir in Orissa. Distraught and depressed, she approached local NGO Kalyan when she was two-months pregnant. "We counselled her and convinced her not to go for an abortion," says Meenakshi Purohit of Kalyan.
But life has been a constant struggle since. Her son was refused admission in school when the teachers discovered that he was born of rape. Later, Meera got him admitted to a school unfamiliar with her status. But for that, she had to leave the security of her parents' home and shift to another place. She's now finding it difficult to earn a living. What's worse, the accused is still absconding.
Meera's story is the story of countless rape victims left to fend for themselves and their children in a cruel and uncaring world. In Orissa alone, there are at least a dozen children in recent times born out of rapes who lead a hand-to-mouth existence in the absence of family or government support.
In Deogarh district, a 14-year-old disabled girl raped by a 70-year-old is jeered by everyone. After she gave birth in July, she's been living with her parents. But her father, a daily wage labourer, can't support her. "She has visited several government offices for help but no one cares," says a local.
There are also cases of parents deserting their raped daughters. A minor who was raped in Balangir is now working in a beauty parlour and fends for her three-year-old daughter after her parents wanted nothing to do with her. Besides the cold indifference of families, there is the insensitivity of authorities.
A Class IV dropout in Kuchinda who conceived after being raped by a neighbour has got little help despite the then state commission for women chairperson Jyoti Panigrahi discussing her rehabilitation with district authorities.
"A rape victim, even if she is not pregnant, is entitled to be rehabilitated under the Criminal Injuries Relief and Rehabilitation Boards scheme. Each victim gets Rs 2 lakh compensation. Collectors should ensure its implementation," says Panigrahi.
But there has been hope and rehabilitation for some. In contrast to these bleak cases, the Patan gang-rape victim in Gujarat has got her life back on the rails. The victim, 23, teaches in a school in rural Gujarat. After a tiring day at work, she heads home to a loving husband who runs a mobile repair shop and a baby boy who makes her run around in circles.
Her amazing comeback story is an example of how rape victims should be treated. After being sexually assaulted by six teachers at Patan Primary Teacher's Training College (PTC) in 2008, she used to hallucinate about monster gurus despite being ensconced in the safety of a home run by an NGO. She would be held, comforted and told that it was all over.
She was lucky. The boy in love with her also proposed marriage. "His proposal in 2010 was something I felt would never happen to me. Even my in-laws treat me like a daughter," she says. Despite post-traumatic stress for months, she passed her studies with distinction and got a government job. She's now at peace. "I wish the outrage over rape allows people to open their hearts and accept rape victims as wives and daughter-in-laws," she says plaintively.
(Some names changed to protect identity)
Born of rape, left alone and bereft
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Born of rape, left alone and bereft
