Who Will Save Our Children?

News about rapes has become a daily dose for us. We look up online media and newspapers and read plethora of news about rapes every day. We feel disgusted for a while, then form a limited or vexatious opinion and, we move on. Some comment that there should be strict laws, some say that the victims were wearing the wrong clothes or they were out at the wrong hour. The question is, why so many cases of child rapes are spurring? Are they also because of wrong clothes or timing? Maybe the problem is never about the victim, but the offender.

Recently, some incidents of child abuse came to light that shook the nation.

The heinous murder of a 3-year old girl in Aligarh made huge headlines. This happened in the beginning of June, and the prime accused were Zahid and Aslam. They ruthlessly murdered the child over financial disputes with the child’s family. This case is seeing a massive public outcry. People are sharing posts on social media expressing their fury on this incident.

Then, in another incident in UP’s Kushinagar district, a 12-year old Dalit girl was thrashed out of her house and raped by six men. The accused had a construction issue with the victim’s family.

Another latest crime reported again from UP was about a 13-year old boy who was allegedly raped by four men. This incident took place in UP’s Shahjahanpur.

First of all, so many child abuse cases captured in UP uprightly condemn the state’s law. Where is the police shilly-shallying when such crimes take place? Why isn’t the police more alert and rigid when multiple cases as such have been reported?

In such a state, who is going to trust the police for justice?

Secondly, in the Aligarh case, one of the accused Aslam has a criminal history of rape and abduction. He has raped one of his minor daughters and sexually assaulted the other one, for which he was jailed. However, later he was bailed. He has other crime records too and every time he managed to get free. Is the UP police so easy to get past? Why was this criminal hounding free when he has been counted as an unsafe human to be around? Have these forces forgotten their ethics and duties?

Thirdly, we had not yet recovered from the child abuse in Kathua and Unnao that more cases came into fore. Will this time too, we will do violent protests and candle light marches and eventually, forget about these abject episodes?

Such cases get on our nerves but with time, they get lost in our memories. And now, we shall not forget that the issue of child abuse is of grave concern as we cannot watch childhood getting ruined that easily. Our children cannot roam free in a world where some hound-like-men are looking for an opportunity to exploit them. Why do we need to tell our children to be safe and not play outside for much long? If a child is rationedfor playing then isn’t that an injustice to the development of a child? Why do children have to stay alert and become mature much before their age? Such restrictions ruin something as innocent as childhood. And so, it is those people who think of children as an easy prey, that need to be controlled.

It’s high time we stringently question the government that what can really assure the safety our children. Reservations and special services do ease some generic chores for us but what about our protection and security? When a child can be thrashed from the house to be raped then what can really save the children?

The laws need to be much more strict, the police needs to be way more vigilant and honest and penalties for sexual abuse need to be evermore effective. The government needs to create terror among prospective criminals rather than telling our children to be safe because apparently, more than the children, such criminals need to be saved from their own brutal mentality.