When Bhanwari Devi was gangraped in 1992 in a forgettable Rajasthan village, her only hope for justice was the court of law
When Bhanwari Devi was gangraped in 1992 in a forgettable Rajasthan village, her only hope for justice was the court of law. She couldn't expect help from her village panchayat as it was on the instruction of the village elders that she was raped as punishment for speaking out against child marriages. But what Bhanwari, a Dalit, had not discounted for was the biases of men of law.
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Caste-ing couch: This is what Shiney Ahuja's lawyer had to say about the actor's maid who has accused him of rape: "She belongs to a lower caste, which is aggressive by nature, and she wouldn't have submitted herself so easily" file pic |
The district sessions judge pronounced in November 1995 that an upper-caste man could not have raped a Dalit. So Bhanwari must be lying and the rapists were let off.
It has been 14 years since that 'landmark' judgment, but such gems are still heard in courts of law. This is what Shiney Ahuja's lawyer had to say about the actor's maid who has accused him of rape: "She belongs to a lower caste, which is aggressive by nature, and she wouldn't have submitted herself so easily. They are known for being aggressive."
It is common knowledge that police stations across the country often display biases against women, Dalits and Muslims among other subaltern groups. But what about the hallowed CBI? In its charge sheet filed in a Kochi court in the 1992 murder case of the Catholic nun, Sister Abhaya, the premier investigation agency said Abhaya had discovered Sister Sephy, an accused, in "suspicious circumstances" along with two Catholic priests, who are the other accused.
The CBI also asked for examination of her breasts to claim that she was a "woman of loose morals." And, in a bizarre conclusion, said her "pendulous" breasts were "suggestive of vigorous fondling during sexual intercourse."
And that's how they're busting it!
