The Unheard Voices

Hello and welcome! I have decided to start a series, which I’ve named “The Unheard Voices". In this series, I’ll be discussing various incidents and cases where people have faced injustices, abuse or mistreatment. You might be aware that many such stories get reported in the news, but there are also many cases that go unnoticed by the media, or the victims often hesitate to report them out of fear of what others might think and they’re afraid of being shamed in society. This kind of situation is more common in third-world countries where the rich and powerful are often protected, while the poor are left vulnerable. When a wealthy person faces injustice, it usually gets recognized as such, but when a poor person does, they are often forced to be silent. In my series, I’ll be shedding light on these issues and the challenges faced by victims who remain unheard and didn’t receive the justice they deserve.

I also have a connection to a developing country where the voices of those who lack power or wealth often go unheard. That’s why I decided that I would listen to those whose voices might not be heard elsewhere and use vocal and other social media platforms to share their stories with all of you. This way, people become aware of incidents that happen every day to vulnerable individuals. And perhaps, through my small effort, they might be able to get justice.

In the first chapter of this series, I will be discussing an incident that happened to someone very close to me, the daughter of our house helper. It happened about 3 years ago when our house help was working at our place. It was between 10:00-11:00 a.m. Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. My mom went to check who it was, and she saw that our house help’s mother was standing there looking extremely anxious and distressed, as if some calamity had befallen her. My mom was about to ask her if everything was alright when, even before she could ask, the lady quickly spoke in a panicked voice, “Madam, please send my daughter with me urgently, we have an emergency" and tears were in her eyes as she said this. Hearing this, our house help rushed outside, and her mother told her to come with her quickly.

My mom, seeing the worry and anxiety on our house help’s face, decided to go outside with them and asked, “Why are you so distressed? What happened?” Saying this, my mom accompanied them outside to get to the bottom of the situation.

My older brother and I were witnessing this whole scene. After my mom went with them, I locked the door and started doing my homework. It had been quite a while since my mom left, and my brother said it was getting late. He asked me to lock the door and said he would go and check to make sure nothing serious had happened there. While my brother and I were discussing this, the doorbell rang.

I went to see who it was, and there was my mom with a distressed and worried expression on her face. We asked her if everything was alright and why she looked so troubled. She told us that our youngest house helper’s daughter, who was only three years old, got raped by her own uncle. Her mother left her at home with her grandmother, thinking that she would take care of her.

After our house helper left her place, the little girl’s uncle came to play with her. The grandmother then went to the kitchen to prepare some meal for the lunch and noticed that there was no salt in the kitchen, she asked the uncle to watch over the child for five minutes while she quickly went to the market. He agreed. And locked the door after the grandmother went outside .

When the grandmother returned after five minutes, she heard the child crying and screaming. She rushed to the door and started knocking loudly, calling for the uncle to open it quickly. When the man heard the grandmother’s cries, he quickly and escaped through the back door. During that time, several people had gathered due to the grandmother’s cries. They broke the lock and found the child naked and almost unconscious on the bed with blood.

Two women from the neighborhood rushed the child to the hospital, instructing the grandmother to inform the child’s mother and bring her to the hospital. After they reached the hospital, the hospital staff examined the child and informed them that if they had been slightly late, the child could have died.

Can you people believe? Raping a 3-year-old girl? Didn’t that person have any remorse or empathy for that innocent child before committing such a terrible act? And to make it even worse, she was his own blood, his brother’s daughter. How could anyone do something so cruel, especially to such a young child and a close family member?

The child’s mother, after hearing all of this, immediately went to the police to file a report and seek justice against the man who had committed this heinous act. However, due to the lack of strict rules and regulations in non-developed countries, and the influence of the wealthy and powerful, the police did not take immediate action. Instead, they sent the case to court, saying that the court would decide.

Our house help spent two years trying everything possible to get justice for her daughter and bring the criminal to account. Every time they went to court, they were told to come back the next week, and no decision was made during each hearing. This went on for two years. Eventually, the criminal managed to use his connections and get the case dismissed through a powerful recommendation. The child didn’t get justice, and the court closed the case without a verdict. This happened because our house help couldn’t afford a lawyer, and she couldn’t bring the case back to court due to financial constraints.

Even today, when I think about this incident, I shudder at how someone could become such a monster. No human can even think of doing something like that to another person, and that little girl was his own blood!