India
Teenage rape victim fights back after 3-week nightmare | India News – Times of India
“My only aim now is to become an achiever in life, something people know me for,” a 15-year-old girl told TOI on Saturday as she returned to school after a traumatic three weeks during which she was sexually abused by a neighbour, locked herself at home because the family feared social embarrassment and saw her name deleted from the school rolls.
Her deregistration was accompanied by a reprimand from her government school first name who – unaware of the reason for the girl’s absence – told her father on Thursday to get her married if he was not interested in sending her to school. It was a misplaced disdain, which the headmaster realised on Friday when she was informed of the sexual assault. But the news had already spread by then. The headmaster came under heavy criticism on social media when the sexual assault about the girl, the removal of her name from school and her comments to her father, combined into one story.
Education Department officials intervened on Friday after learning about the police case that the teenager‘s parents had filed a complaint after the sexual assault on June 26. The school had reopened on July 1 after the summer vacation, but she had not turned up. Neither had three other girls. It was treated as unexplained absence and on July 10, the principal decided to strike their names from the rolls. According to officials, in all cases of absence from school, a student has to write a note to the class teacher or principal giving specific reasons for absence. The girl’s father told TOI on Saturday that she had not been out of the house since the incident on June 26 due to shock. He also said he was worried about her safety as the attacker – a married man – lives in the same colony.
The suspect, who allegedly met her on Swarn Jayanti Park multiple times, is now in custody, police said, after being charged with rape and criminal intimidation under sections of BNS and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. He had invited her to meet him at a hotel on June 16, where he took her to a room and allegedly raped her. “She had gone out for tutoring, which usually ends at 2 pm,” the father said. She usually returns at 3.30 pm, but that day she was not home until 6 pm. “She was pale when she returned and did not speak. The next day I asked her about it and that’s when she told me about the incident,” he said. The episode threw the family off track. The girl isolated herself as she tried to cope. The parents were crying and worried. Amid this despair, the school pulled her off the schedule. However, on Friday evening, the principal was at the door, her manner and behaviour a far cry from the voice on the phone that had reprimanded the father. The principal told TOI on Saturday that she had re-enrolled the girl after the district inspector of schools informed her about the sexual abuse case and decided to talk to the girl herself to convince her to continue her education. “The girls whose names were withdrawn did not inform the school about their absence.
We have come across several cases of girls dropping out because their families got them married. I thought she would not come to school for the same reason,” she said of her July 11 phone call to the teen’s father. “It (the deregistration) was meant as a warning. At that time, I didn’t know what had happened. Once I knew, I met the family in person. We spoke for about three hours,” she added. The girl’s father confirmed that the principal had met them, stressed the need for her to return to school and offered her support. “Education is important. We realize that,” he said. On Saturday, the teen took a step back to normalize her life and went back to school. But the most familiar places seemed changed. “It was strange. Everyone was looking at me. It seemed like a lot of things had changed. But my friends came and spoke to me. With time, I think everything will return to normal,” she said. Her schoolbag is packed for Monday.
Her deregistration was accompanied by a reprimand from her government school first name who – unaware of the reason for the girl’s absence – told her father on Thursday to get her married if he was not interested in sending her to school. It was a misplaced disdain, which the headmaster realised on Friday when she was informed of the sexual assault. But the news had already spread by then. The headmaster came under heavy criticism on social media when the sexual assault about the girl, the removal of her name from school and her comments to her father, combined into one story.
Education Department officials intervened on Friday after learning about the police case that the teenager‘s parents had filed a complaint after the sexual assault on June 26. The school had reopened on July 1 after the summer vacation, but she had not turned up. Neither had three other girls. It was treated as unexplained absence and on July 10, the principal decided to strike their names from the rolls. According to officials, in all cases of absence from school, a student has to write a note to the class teacher or principal giving specific reasons for absence. The girl’s father told TOI on Saturday that she had not been out of the house since the incident on June 26 due to shock. He also said he was worried about her safety as the attacker – a married man – lives in the same colony.
The suspect, who allegedly met her on Swarn Jayanti Park multiple times, is now in custody, police said, after being charged with rape and criminal intimidation under sections of BNS and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. He had invited her to meet him at a hotel on June 16, where he took her to a room and allegedly raped her. “She had gone out for tutoring, which usually ends at 2 pm,” the father said. She usually returns at 3.30 pm, but that day she was not home until 6 pm. “She was pale when she returned and did not speak. The next day I asked her about it and that’s when she told me about the incident,” he said. The episode threw the family off track. The girl isolated herself as she tried to cope. The parents were crying and worried. Amid this despair, the school pulled her off the schedule. However, on Friday evening, the principal was at the door, her manner and behaviour a far cry from the voice on the phone that had reprimanded the father. The principal told TOI on Saturday that she had re-enrolled the girl after the district inspector of schools informed her about the sexual abuse case and decided to talk to the girl herself to convince her to continue her education. “The girls whose names were withdrawn did not inform the school about their absence.
We have come across several cases of girls dropping out because their families got them married. I thought she would not come to school for the same reason,” she said of her July 11 phone call to the teen’s father. “It (the deregistration) was meant as a warning. At that time, I didn’t know what had happened. Once I knew, I met the family in person. We spoke for about three hours,” she added. The girl’s father confirmed that the principal had met them, stressed the need for her to return to school and offered her support. “Education is important. We realize that,” he said. On Saturday, the teen took a step back to normalize her life and went back to school. But the most familiar places seemed changed. “It was strange. Everyone was looking at me. It seemed like a lot of things had changed. But my friends came and spoke to me. With time, I think everything will return to normal,” she said. Her schoolbag is packed for Monday.
