Women Violence: The Daughter of Ram Prasad

The daughter of Ram Prasad is lost. But for Ram Prasad, it's not a new incident, because the loss of grown up girls is quite common in this village. He didn't pay much attention to such incidents. But now his own daughter, who is now sixteen years, is lost and he is mortally disturbed.

At this moment, Ram Prasad has just entered his house after his day's work in the field. He has to console his wife. These are the moments when he should share his pleasures and pains with his wife. He doesn't afford time for sharing feelings with other at other periods. He loves his wife very deeply. He remembers well how he had sung love songs while going to the market. But now how can he console his wife? He tried to control his hesitating mind. He had a desire to smoke and so he lighted on a leaf wrapped cigarette. His mind began to burn together with his stick of cigarette. He expressed these words with a long sigh in a philosophical manner," Alas! This life goes on burring likes a cigarette!"

The wife cast a quick glance towards him. He was overwhelmed with delight. But he expressed his sadness at the loss of their daughter and said, "What can you do now by crying? Instead, let's leave this village and go far away tomorrow right away. Could it be that she went to Kathmandu?"

When he was speaking these words, he felt an unbearable pain in his heart. But he thought it not at all proper to cry in front of his wife.

"I had suggested that we should get her married in time. You heard my words with one ear and let them go through another ear. Now, who knows, someone could have taken her away and sold her!"

His heart was broken into two when his wife expressed these words. He felt as if someone smeared his burning chest in the salt and red chilies.

The daughter of his neighboring friend Jhamak Bahadur too was taken away and sold. Later she returned to her country in a degrading condition.. He remembered the third daughter of Jamak Bahadur. She had met her death due to AIDS. Really, the daughter of Jhamak Bahadur was of unsteady character and Ram Prasad didn't like her way of life at all. Jhamak permitted his daughter to freely mix with the village young boys whenever she wanted.

Ram Prasad couldn't get a wink of sleep for the whole night. On the one hand he was extremely worried at the thought of his daughter and on the other hand his wife didn't allow him to fall asleep because of her nightlong weeping. Seeing his cold bed he was angry and disgusted. What was the use of such a life which was full of wants? Even if he worked hard all through the year, he could not afford sufficient food for the family nor could he spend a few rupees in front of his friends and relatives. And now on top of it all, his daughter is lost.

Ram Prasad got up abruptly from his bed. Perhaps he had made a serious decision. He thought of Harke, the son of Muralidhar belonging to his village. In fact, he had heard rumors from time to time about the intimate relation of his daughter and Harke. May be, his daughter was taken away by him. He was not a good man. He was under police custody for seven days when he was involved in a squabble in the village. He went on chattering to himself.

The wife got up too and washed her face, hands and feet and went out to milk their cow. Ram Prasad milked the cow all the time himself. Today he didn't feel like doing it too. Once when he had fallen sick, it was his daughter who brought for him hot milk day in and day out and he remembered how she pressed his head all through the night without herself going to bed. When he felt sad, it was his daughter who consoled him. He couldn't think of his daughter beyond this and turning on the other side he shed few drops of painful tears.

At this moment, Ram Prasad is walking on the street. He has to talk to Muralidhar in the village. Many years ago, there was a severe famine in the village and his field yielded no production. Then he had borrowed some 48 lbs of corn and 32 lbs of rice from Jhamak.

When Ram Prasad had tried to repay the loan later he didn't accept it. Ram Prasad has never forgotten the beneficence.

In the street he was thus walking, he saw a kind of crowd had gathered and noise was ensuing from there. Ram Prasad was startled. He had seen this kind of crowd and uproar only at the time of the democratic movement. What kind of an unexpected calamity had fallen in the village? He was heading towards the house of Jhamak Bahadur and advanced straight forward.

An old woman of about sixty or sixty one was expressing in sighs," The poor soul! Who was the one who killed her in such a young age? She never spoke a bad word to anybody. Such a good girl also had to become a victim of evil fate!"

People were shouting from one side. He went further forward. Immediately, he saw his dear daughter in a dead condition. Perhaps her body was thrown into the street after being raped.

Ram Prasad's thought went to his wife. He thought of the condition of his family and home. Actually, he was mortally pained and could not analyze the present at all. Therefore, he fell over the dead body of his daughter and went on crying nonstop.

Nepali Journalist and Story Writer Kamala Sarup is an editor of peacejournalism.com. She is specialising in in-depth reporting and writing on Peace, Anti War, Women, Terrorism, Democracy, and Development. Some of her publications are: Women's Empowerment (Booklet). Prevention of trafficking in women through media,(Book) Efforts to Prevent Trafficking in for Media Activism (Media research). Two Stories collections. Her interests include international conflict resolution, cross-cultural communication, philosophy, feminism, political, socio-economic and literature. Her current plans are to move on to humanitarian work in conflict areas in the near future. She also is experienced in organizational and community development.

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