An average of 92 people are raped every day! Priya Shakti, a comic-book heroine who is determined to reverse the brutal situation in India

In the January of 2015, when the world celebrated a new year, India again preached kidnapping and imprisonment and continued rounds of violence against Japanese schoolgirls.

The 21-year-old Japanese schoolgirl travelled to Calcutta on November 22, 2014 and was abducted and kidnapped by five Indian men. The woman was first taken to the beach in West Bengal, where decathlon Digha, five of people continued to invade and use her withdrawal Kakiang 76000 rupees, then the woman was moved to the eastern Indian Buddhist Holy Land of Bodhi Bodh Gaya, five men handed him over to other gang members, women continue to be many rounds of violence.

The three-week-long prison nightmare, which lasted for nearly one months, was finally terminated on December 26, and the woman successfully escaped and reported to the police.

Calcutta the director of police said that at present, Bodh Gaya caught three suspects, two were arrested in Calcutta, two of whom are brothers, they are more in the haunt of foreign tourists waiting to do, claiming to be a guide, pretending to take visitors to visit India, but actually kidnapping. "One of them would even speak very standard Japanese. "Police say they are still searching, hoping to uncover the gangs behind them.

Such cases are not unfamiliar in India, the Indian capital of New Delhi has been crowned "rape capital" notoriety, two years ago, India, a "bus round of violence case", is still a lot of people's psychological pain.

That day was December 16, 2012, the 23-year-old Indian female medical intern Jyoti Singh Pandey and her boyfriend were lured to the wrong bus at a waiting time in New Delhi for four minutes, two people immediately detected a different, the bus was not on the usual route, the protest after the boyfriend was beaten, the woman suffered 6 Men were gang-raped and beaten, and the abdomen, head, intestines and genitals were attacked by iron bars. Afterwards, the violent man threw the two men out of the car. After the rescue, Jyoti has said "I want to live", although sent to Singapore first aid, but still unfortunate December 29 because of the intestinal attack seriously torn and injured, pronounced dead.

After the incident, thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the government's connivance with rape, but 2012 years later there was no increase in violence in India, according to data from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in India, On average, 92 women are raped every day, and rape cases have risen from 24923 in 2012 to 33707 in 2013 years. (Recommended reading: being raped is not a woman's fault!) #YESALLWOMAN say a woman's voice )

How can you not feel angry when you are a person?

Point out the brutal situation! The New Age comics heroine Priya Shakti

In cases of sexual assault, the Indian police always cold treatment or "do not prosecute" three words perfunctory, women's social status is long and weak, unable to seek justice through legal means for their own time and space background, a new cartoon in India. The heroine of the story, Priya Shakti, who had been treated as a victim of sexual assault, was taken by her family and society and chose to take the initiative to join hands with Hindu goddess Parvati to combat sexual crimes in India.

So Parvati a new "anti sexual Violence" God only identity, Priya is the incarnation of the age of heroine.

The comic was drawn by Indian-American producer Ram Devineni, Dan Goldman, and inspired by India's mythical tales, with a strong "Indian bus-round-Storm case" association. Priya Shakti is a cartoon character, but it points out the problems that every woman can face.

Ram Devineni said he was also one of the street protesters after the Indian bus riots two years ago, when the police repeatedly said that "no good girl is going to be alone on the road at night." "So he realizes that the high level of rape and sexual violence in India is closely related to India's patriarchal and dislike of women , not just individuals, but the cultural aspects of India, which must be turned upside down." (Recommended to you: breaking the myth of rape )

Comic books, but also honest portrayal of India's current brutal situation.

"Why do you go out alone?" 」

"was raped?" You must have been the one to provoke it.

"If you are really raped, then you have to choose one of them to marry," said the man. 」

A sentence after another, the patriarchal reprimand, let the rape victims believe that this is "their own fault." In India's patriarchal mentality, rape survivors not only get legal support and assistance, but also suffer more than the rape of condemnation, social and psychological pressure, many women were expelled from the House as punishment. In such a cultural context and social background, rape cases are constantly "rationalized", but also in many people's heart again and again "rape is the girl's own fault" concept, became unable to stop the vicious circle of deterioration. (Recommended reading: dress is too short to wear, no one "should" be violated )

"I asked many victims of sexual assault, who said they had no recourse and no place for justice. The family does not understand them, the community does not treat them as one thing, the police attitude perfunctory, and they are also threatened by the rape and the family of the rapist, every day must live in fear, fear of being killed. "ram Devineni said.

#standwithPriya to reverse the cultural dimension of India's younger generation

80% of Indians are devout Hindus, the left is Shiva Shiva, right is the power goddess Parvati

Ram Devineni said: "When I was a child, I grew up in Hindu mythology, and when the village faced problems, they summoned God to help, and now India has more serious problems than sexual violence?" This is the main axis of the whole comic story. Vikas Menon, who conceived the storyline with me, mentioned that Priya was a sexually abused survivor, and in the comics she could choose to ask for help from God, but in the end she had to decide whether to challenge and flip the entire existing patriarchal society, which was her personal decision. 」

At the end of the comic, Priya was helped by the goddess of Shiva and Power Shiva Parvati, a symbol of destruction and rebirth, on a tiger's back and sanctioned the rapist. We can imagine that in real life, assistance comes from the law, and Priya decisions are more likely to be faced by everyone.

"We want to make the whole story easy to read, even if it's a heavy rape issue and a challenge to patriarchal ideology," he said. We hope to communicate with young people, to flip the deep-rooted dislike of women, we must start from the beginning, with their rational dialogue. "15 minutes of comics, hidden behind the far-reaching message, in the face of the unbearable situation, everyone is a chance to change." (Recommended reading: The structure of accomplice in patriarchal society and the limitations of mainstream feminism )

When flipping through comics, we can also try to think,

In the face of sexual assault cases, can the family give more understanding and love, not just the eyes of condemnation, can society provide more substantive assistance, not just because of fear of the sexual assault cases "personalized" and "small", so that victims bear all the pressure of public opinion? Can we convince rape victims that they can be fearless enough to confront the people who hurt them and to impose legal sanctions? (same field Gayon:"woman fan Activity" write down your pain, we all understand )

At present, this comic has been printed in 6,000 Hindi and English versions, as well as the image output, hanging across the streets of Mumbai, as long as the scanned images can be viewed online. And combined with the AV platform APP Blippar, provide users online to watch Priya-related animated films and India's female victims of documentary opportunities.

Image source:NBC

Image source:NBC

At the same time, Apne Aap Women Worldwide, a non-profit organization that is committed to helping women victims, calls for more people to join the ranks of Priya and spread influence! Inviting men and women to clock out hashtag #standwithPriya community behavior, and to make the world look squarely at India's current situation and the need for change. (same field Gayon: "When that man was pointing a gun at me," singer Ari AMos wrote down his feelings of rape . )

The reality is brutal, but it is only by confronting and acknowledging the reality that it is possible to reverse the situation and not to go into the next vicious circle because of appeasement.

Many people think that Ram Devineni this move is overly optimistic, but we think rather than complaining about the dark, and to go into a vicious circle with despair, rather than do something, with the force of the Times to overthrow the patriarchal ideological trend of oppression and harm to women, to promote the embrace of gender trends ; To create an era where everyone can live comfortably, so that women no longer need to fear the dark night street, no longer need to be labeled "provoke rape" because of clothing, no longer need to bear the social public opinion and psychological pressure of rape victim alone, just like Ram Devineni and Dan Goldman The New Age heroine Priya Shakti, who has finally begun to smile.

Perhaps a cultural reversal of the ideas of the younger generation in India, along with amendments to the law, is a long-term way to halt the vicious cycle of sexual assault, violence and sexual assault in India. And how we hope that one day we no longer need Priya Shakti to stand out, because all women are already priya Shakti.