‘We are losing hope in our nation’s legal system’
Every raped soldier’s brothers and sisters echo pattern of abuse in India
New Delhi: “We are losing hope in our nation’s legal system” are the words of the brother of Indian Air Force officer gang-raped victim, Archisha, echoing a pattern of abuse shielded by rank and patriarchy among Indian armed forces.
According to Kashmir Media Service, narrating the ordeal of Archisha, her brother, who from his account @_plonk by saying, “My sister was an [Indian] Air Force officer. She w as brutally gang-raped at base. She worked very hard to join the armed forces. She was posted in Air Force. She was huster. On 15th July, 2023, she was attending a party at her work place. Next day, we wake up to the most horrific news. Archisha was found in the pool of blood. She was in coma. My sister had a 6 inch crack in her skull. Six days later, she had lost her life. Her postmortem revealed she was raped. We suspect that it was a gang rape but the truth was kept from us. It was said that no semen samples were found. It has been two years, but we still have so many questions unanswered.”
The victim’s brother concluded by saying, “We are losing hope in our nation’s legal system.”
Archisha’s story is just one example of a larger pattern of abuse. Indian military women are violated twice; first by rapists, then by the system. Similar incident has happened to a colonel’s wife, who begged justice, but neither media, nor came to her help. Her loyalty died with his betrayal and command silence.
In India, every raped soldier’s sister echoes: “We are losing hope in the system.” The fact is India’s military doesn’t protect its own people, particularly women.
