We, the society, have always been harsh and cruel to women who dare to complain about the violence faced by them and worse if they dare complain about sexual harassment. This is the main reason why most victims don't speak up in the first place. If a victim musters the courage to speak up, then we, the society, make their life hell by questioning their character and integrity.

Once in a while, we, the society, take up cudgels against the perpetrators of sexual violence and lending support to the victim/survivor. However, in our effort to ensure justice to the victim, we end up doing injustice to them. The focus is always on seeking punishment for the perpetrators but seldom do we focus on the well being of the victim/survivor. We don't think about the social stigma and the embarrassment that she and her family will face from this very same society. When we lend our support to her cause, we end up feeling good about it for a lifetime, but what about the victim? She has our support only till the time when either the perpetrators have been punished by Law or till she makes headlines in newspapers or media. After that we forget about her.
Will we forget about this young Dalit woman from Patan just like many others? Can we ensure that she can gradually overcome the scars, trauma and the pain of the sexual violence with our sensitive support and care? Can we support her so that she can continue her education and take up a job to support her family and herself?
Yes, we, the young men and women of Ahmedabad lend our full support to this young woman from Patan who has shown tremendous courage by speaking up and bringing this horrendous crime to light. We join her in her struggle for justice. Let us not forget that this can happen to anyone! It is NOT her fault!
We dedicate this Blog to the courageous young woman from Patan. Let us forget about the larger society and instead let each one of us speak for ourselves. You can write your messages of support and solidarity to her and we promise to forward it to her.