This happened in 1968.I had been appointed as Case Worker at Children's Home for Girls run by the Directorate of Social Welfare at Tihar Jail campus Delhi, after I passed out from Delhi School Of Social Work.As the name connotes,it housed girls in need of shelter.
There must have been innumerable girls over there but I can recollect only one.Let me call her Komal (delicate),for she was daintiness personified.What drew my attention to her was her innocent face,body structure and also her nature.A fair pretty round face which still comes to my mind.She was barely 13-14 yrs of age,very quiet and reserved.I did not see her mingling with other girls.But i was puzzled by her physique--she was plump in an odd way.I thought perhaps her puppy fat was still lingering on and dismissed the matter.
After a few days i was asked to take Komal to a hospital for her check-up.I took out her case file to familiarize myself with her problem and what I read there took my breath away.She belonged to another city.There she had a friend whose father ran a shop in front of their home.One day she went to their house and asked the fellow if her friend was home.He confirmed she was and asked her to go in.The poor mite did not suspect what awaited her.As she went in that scoundrel closed the shop and went in.Obviously no one was home.You can guess what followed.
After this fiendish act he threatened her to keep quiet or else he would kill her family.The poor thing kept quiet.She had barely taken the first step on the journey from childhood to woman-hood.For a few months her mother had no cause to suspect that anything was amiss and when the whole thing tumbled out it was too late for an abortion.So she was sent to this Home for her delivery.
Soon after our visit to the hospital I got an offer from AIIMS and left that job--I was there for only a few weeks in fact but Komal darts into my thoughts time and again.I wonder how her delivery went,what happened to the baby and most importantly--what became of Komal.Did she live a normal carefree life like others of her age?Has she been able to bury the past?She must be above sixty yrs today-how has her life shaped up?Where is her baby,what became of it?Does she think of it sometimes?I am sure it must have been admitted to an orphanage--living a motherless,homeless life for no fault of it's own.
These crimes have became rampant today.In those days child sexual abuse ,if it existed-as it must have done-was not talked of publicly.Today this danger looms large in every parent's mind.The least we can do is to establish a healthy relationship with our children so that they confide in us and ask for our guidance whenever they feel the need.When children enter the teens they begin to view parents' concern as an invasion of their privacy so that it becomes difficult to strike a balance between safeguarding them and allowing them freedom at the same time.Parents tread on thin ice since they would not like to be dismissed as helicopter parents.It is indeed a very challenging task!
Image courtesy google.
It is such a pity.Taking it from here...I always wonder what and how do parents talk to those children whom they have adopted from orphanges?
ReplyDeleteI think only those who have large hearts can do justice to an adopted child.
DeleteHorrifying and makes you despair of human nature, Indu! How do those b******* live with themselves - must be like perpetually wallowing in the vilest of gutters.
ReplyDeleteJust what i feel Suresh.
Deletevery sad..my heart goes out to girls like Komal...blame goes tot such scoundrel's parents too for not bringing up their children properly..
ReplyDeleteYes Renu,you are right there.
DeleteMakes me sick to the stomach. I just wish that each one of them is punished. And why do girls like Komal have to suffer this way?
ReplyDeleteRachna the facts are sickening no doubt.I wish the authorities wake up.
DeleteSuch a painful story...Men like that should be strangled. Talking is very important, totally agree with you
ReplyDeleteJust imagine,so many cases go unreported which means that there is not a hint of shame,guilt or social boycott attached to them.They can do it again and again with total impunity.
DeleteBoth, your experience and the stats in the ACHR page are terrifying, tragic realities. Looking at it objectively (and in no way condoning the abuse of authority) one reason for perpetrators being statistically higher among close relatives and people in power could be ease of access. At least in institutions, the need for adequately trained and compassionate staff is critical. Awareness and exposure is key.
ReplyDeleteEasy access of course and why children are targeted is because it is easy to smother their voices,frighten them into silence.
DeleteRegarding the abuse in juvenile homes--i feel these beasts make a beeline for such places in order to satisfy their carnal obsessions.They purposely make connections there.
Yes it must be suffocating for them to just bear the brunt and keep silent.
ReplyDeleteIt is true we see a ray of hope now.
Indeed the world is full of such horrors, Indu. But then the world also has good people like you.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful compliment Karthik-one i will treasure to the end :)
DeleteThis is a highly shattering tale Induji, thanks for sharing it with us. My heart goes out to Komal, I pray that wherever she is.. has been, she is happy. As for that man, such cowards can never live their life in peace - I trust them to get their share, this life or next! That's the law of the universe, I believe.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt Arti,i too think he will meet his just desserts.
DeleteRegarding Komal,coming to normal must have been hard after such an experience.
And that sex offender will continue to lead a normal life. No wonder rapes are on the rise. It's the girl who is shamed and made to feel responsible for someone else's crime.
ReplyDeleteYes Purba,it is amazing how the culprit is not even denounced or shamed by society.
DeleteWe ought to put up their snaps at critical places.
sad and pathetic Indu ji
ReplyDeleteit hurts and the incident tugs one at the heart -----but is there an answer or a remedy ? one can only feel sad ,and nauseated no words can express what I feel
Yes it is difficult to imagine how young girls live with a memory of this horror.
DeleteThanks for coming over.