Editor,
Today, we write this Open Letter to say enough is enough; we cannot and will not tolerate the routine violence and misogyny against women in our communities any longer. We write as Khasi and Jaintia women in rage and sadness as we confront yet another incident of gang rape in our hills, and as we witness the community’s deplorable response to it. We express our strong condemnation of the criminal, violent and manipulative act of the perpetrators and the subsequent production of a video featuring the crime. We also outrightly denounce the way people have avidly participated in the consumption and circulation of the video, and in the deeply unfortunate shaming of the rape survivor instead of the perpetrators.
We are very disturbed by the public’s lack of empathy and their misplaced sense of judgment, manifested in the fact that many have been quick to criticise the survivor and to insist on seeing “both sides” of the story, instead of readily siding with her, the person who was wronged by the criminal act. We want to firmly say that in this case, there are no two sides to listen to.
The act of rape and sexual assault is illegal and wrong, and there is nothing that could justify it. We also want to remind the public that distributing rape and sexual assault videos is not only morally reprehensible but also a punishable offense under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. Those who engage in such acts of violation exacerbate the survivor’s trauma and are complicit in the crime.
Further, we are also appalled to see attempts on social media, particularly Facebook and WhatsApp, to belittle and mock this violent incident, and in fact, to shamefully use it as material for humorous entertainment in the form of memes and videos. We are shocked that such content is even allowed to be published on various social media platforms and while there have been reports on the rape and the unchecked circulation of the video in a few daily newspapers, anything in the form of a condemnation is yet to be seen.
These social media posts reveal the upsetting truth that there are deep patriarchal and misogynistic elements thriving in our community, not just among men but women as well. We feel ashamed to see that even as a matrilineal society, many are unwilling to side with women but instead, they indulge in the culture of victim-blaming, where women’s identities and actions are questioned and used to justify the crime.
Indeed, we have to be honest and alarmed about the fact that this incident did not happen in a vacuum. Reported rape and sexual assault crimes have risen in recent decades, not to mention the many more unreported or undocumented incidents where survivors felt too afraid and powerless to approach the relevant authorities.
As per the statistics published by the Meghalaya Police, there has been a rising trend of crimes against women between 2007 and 2021, and of the cases reported, 58 per cent of them are linked to sexual violence. All this is proof that we have a problem with patriarchy and misogyny in our matrilineal families and society; we can no longer live in denial.
It is time, as a community, to rethink this narrative and instead come together in solidarity as a community to provide spaces of support and safety for people who face sexual violence and abuse. We have a responsibility to ensure that their voices are listened to, and that they are supported, respected and treated with dignity. Equally, we should together demand that the perpetrators are held responsible and are prosecuted for their crime.
Lastly, in this letter, we declare our solidarity with and support for the survivor, who not only went through the horrific experience but also bravely came out to publicly share her painful story of rape. We admire and respect her decision to platform her own voice and recount the traumatic experience in front of the Press, in order to reclaim her narrative and space. As women who have encountered abuse of some kind in our lives, we are aware of how distressing it is to carry the burden of the experience and then speak out and revisit the trauma without any assurance of being believed and supported.
The survivor’s act of speaking out marks an important moment in the history of sexist violence in our community because she is showing us that women who have been abused will not remain silenced and shamed victims. Moreover, since the aftermath of the rape is the viral video which documents the hateful crime, the survivor’s courage to provide context and expose her perpetrators is a powerful gesture towards centring her narrative in the representation of the criminal act in mainstream as well as social media.
To end this letter, we want to say to the survivor that we hear and believe you, and we applaud your courage. What happened to you was not your fault, and we are so sorry that our own community has let you down. We hope that you are not deterred in your journey towards healing and justice.
A Concerned Group of Khasi-Jaintia Women
Via e-mail
