'I knew then my life was over': The heartbreaking reality for teen rape victims shamed in India

Teen rape victims often attempt to marry their attackers to avoid the stigma of a dishonorable life

Indian women suffer as rapists force families to accept money in exchange for silence. In many villages, women are blamed for being raped and men do not marry single mothers, as such women are seen as shameful. Without time to finish their educations, and beaten down by their societal roles, young rape victims often become pregnant and must live with the "shame" of being single mothers.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Men often follow and rape young women in Katihar, eastern India, usually threatening to hurt or further shame the girls if they don't stay silent.

Kshatranil Singh, Superintendent of Police in Katihar District, tells villagers not to accept money. He encourages them to report incidents, stating, "I have alerted every station and villages in this area that no one should listen to Panchayat (village councilors)," who often force families to accept silence money.

Unfortunately, most of the men accused of rape are well-connected and escape unscathed.  Young mothers of teenage rape are increasing within Katihar, usually coldly told to "forget the incident" by their attackers.

The young victims are often too terrified or humiliated to tell their parents, but their greatest fear is to be told they cannot continue with school.

"Any dreams I had of finishing school, get a job and marry a good man and start a family in the proper way was gone forever. He had cast me aside like rubbish. I look at my child now and cry every day. Our lives are ruined," expressed Ranjana Kumari, whose name has been changed. "No man will ever love or care for us now. What will I tell him when he grows up? I do not know what my future holds but I have to go on, somehow and I have to keep living."

Ranjana continues, "I learnt I was pregnant at four months... I knew my parents would be devastated. I know what it meant for an unmarried girl to be pregnant in our village. But I was trapped, I had to tell them."

The girl says her mother cried and cried, knowing they life they had was over.

"I refused to abort the baby. Firstly it's not the baby's fault and secondly, I knew if the baby was born, I could prove the rape and the chances of him marrying me or getting arrested would be far greater."

Because the stigma against single mothers is so terrible, rape victims attempt to do the "honorable" thing by marrying their attackers rather than remaining single parents. Ranjana's family attempted to marry their daughter to her rapist, but he refused and accused her of lying. Ranjana said, "I knew then my life was over."

Mohammad Farooque Alam, a social worker for Manav Sansadhan Vikas Mantralaya in Katihar, explained that the hope of marrying rape victims to their attackers delays arrests. "The number of child rapes are unbelievably high but most of them go unreported because of social pressures. Victims go to the rapist's families first and hope there's a marriage, or they go to Kangaroo courts for justice who in turn suggest compromising the matter for Rs 10,000."

Alam claims that rape cases are immediately registered and investigations can find evidence that "is long gone" by the time victims are pregnant.

Singh says, "Whenever a report is filed, we take action. We try our best to make girls aware and the society about their right to justice."

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