Sourabha Rajyam- The Land Where Women Don't Matter

Mounika’s Flashback

Mounika sat in the Activity Room recalling her childhood days. She had been born in a village, Sarvaya Palle of Bairagigudem Mandal, Jammikuppa District. It was a village that had not been affected much by changes that were occuring in the rest of the empire. Her childhood had been very secure, protected by the neighbours, her mom and other elders. The village had not yet been affected by the new laws then. The first 5 years had been carefree and joyful. Those had been the best years of her life. She had gone to school at the age of six. She had not felt the change that was slowly creeping into the society with the passing of the new laws. She was blissfully unaware of the change in the attitudes nor was she aware of the lustful gazes of boys and men that were increasing every day.

By the time she had passed Sixth Class(Grade), she was aware that things were not going too well for her mother. Her work opportunities were decreasing and she was not going so frequently to “office” these days. But she had been too small to understand the intricacies of the world. All she cared at that time was to have her meals, play with her friends, do her homework and listen to bedtime stories.

The first shock had come when she was in Class IX (Grade 9). A boy in her class, Rajesh, had sat beside her. She had not minded it as there were no vacant benches for him to sit. He had minded his own business in the first period which was taken by Mr. Sadachari, the Math Teacher. He was very strict and would not hesitate to beat anyone who disturbed his class or was not paying attention. Even the top class(grade) students were afraid of him. So the students preferred to be the ideal students with serious faces reflecting tonnes of concentration and interest stamped on their faces.

In the second period Rajesh had changed. That period was taken by Mr. Mukundam, the Social Studies teacher. Mr. Mukundam was opinionated, egoistic, favoured boys and always tried to punish girls. Now that she was thinking about it, she realized that he had always punished girls and always let boys off very easily. He had been like that even before the new laws had been passed, she had heard, but that day she had seen it with her own eyes.

Rajesh had placed his left hand on her thigh as he was busy listening to the lecture. Or was he? She was not sure. She had waited for him to realize where his hand was but since he did not take his hand off her thigh even after 5 minutes, she realized he had placed it intentionally. She had taken his hand and placed it in his lap. But almost immediately it was back on her thigh. Only this time it slid to her knee and entered her skirt. From there it seemed to move up and up and up alarmingly. She had caught his hand to prevent it from going further up and revealing her thighs.

“b***h!” he had hissed in her ear taking her hand off. He had then pulled her skirt up all the way to her waist revealing her blue panty. She had tried to pull down her skirt in shame, embarrassment, and anger. She had lashed out at him instinctively slapping him so hard that her fingers were imprinted on his right cheek.

“MOUNIKA! How dare you disturb my class! Come here!” Mr. Mukundam was livid.

“But, Sir…..”

“You Dare Disobey ME? A worthless girl like YOU? If you are not here in a minute I will give you an all bare s******g!” he fumed in anger.

Mounika had gone to him confusion, anger, frustration written all over her face. What is this? Why was he calling her instead of scolding the stupid, bad boy?

“Why did you slap him?”

“He pulled my skirt up sir!”

“How?”

“Sir????” What did he mean by how? How was she supposed to answer that question? Did he expect her to explain or show how Rajesh had pulled her skirt up?

“Don’t waste my time girl. Show us how he “pulled up” your skirt. If he indeed pulled it up as you claim.”

Mounika stood still, her face registering the shock, that the teacher was asking her to do something she could never have imagined to do; lift her skirt up and show what she could never show to anyone except her husband. She had stood there not able to understand what to do.

“How did he pull up your skirt girl? Like this?” he asked as he lifted her skirt all the way up to her waist making her to blush bright red in shame. She tried frantically to pull her skirt down in vain as her mind was in turmoil at what was happening. Why was no one stopping this? She thought as she tried to close her legs and cover herself. Why were the boys laughing? What if this happened to their sisters? How could they be so insensitive? Why was no other teacher or supervisor stopping this?

The teacher had finally let her skirt down while she hung her head in embarrassment and humiliation.

“If you beat a boy again you will lose all your clothes. Am I clear?”

“WHAT????”

“Never Question ME! Understand?” he asked putting his hand in her skirt pinching her right thigh making her scream in pain and humiliation. As he twisted his hand increasing the pain on her thigh, she nodded her head. He lifted her skirt again looking at the mark on her thigh before letting it down, finally allowing her to go to her seat. Rajesh had a triumphant look on his face as she came to her bench. He had just spread his legs wide, forcing her move past him to her place, touching her butt and thighs with his hands. He caught her waist as she sat down. She had squirmed making him laugh. And…. Was the teacher actually smiling?

Rajesh had then started squeezing her thighs throughout the class and there had been nothing she had been able to do to stop him. It had been a very horrible experience for her.

The next period was to be taken by Ms. Sowmya, the English Teacher. But that day, that period had been taken by Mr. Dhanush, the other English Teacher. She had asked about Ms. Sowmya and she had been answered rudely that it was none of her business. As if to make a point, she had been made to sit in between two boys who had made sure that they had explored her legs thoroughly. By the end of that period she had actually become panty less, the boys having cut it with the pocket scissors they had in their geometry box. Someone had brought a portable stand fan. The boys had made her stand on the teacher’s dais holding her hands to the side. Then another boy had switched on the fan making sure it faced her just a few feet away from her legs making her skirt fly up to her waist and covering her face completely but exposing the part between her legs for everyone to see.

Oh. How horrifying it had been for her! She had been humiliated, shamed and embarrassed and yet no one had raised a finger to help her. Someone had even placed a hand over her mouth preventing her from shouting. She had suddenly felt hands being pulled away and her skirt coming down to her knees. She saw her mom looking furious.

She had actually looked the boys in the eye and made them cower in fear. They seemed to realize that this was one woman they would better avoid when she was angry. Besides, they were f*******n from doing anything to a parent, even if she was a woman. She had picked up her bag, caught hold of her hand and brought her home. She had gone out immediately and that was the end of her ordeal. No one had touched her after that, but the boys had not been punished either.

Her mother had got another job and she was out most of the day. She was so busy at her new job that she could no longer pick her up from school. Her mother looked so tired in the evening that she decided that she should not say anything that would hurt her or add to her worries.

So, for a week she was unmolested. Then came the Half Yearly Exams. she had been allotted room number 13 – the only room with only one girl in a room that seated 30 students. She had glanced nervously as she saw 29 boys in the room. She was in the first bench in the middle row giving a full view of her to all the boys in the room.

The invigilator, a male, had started to check her belongings. He had opened her geometry box, emptying the contents on her desk, then peering closely in and at the back as if she was stupid enough to stick or write something there. Then he had made her stand on the teacher’s dais, frisking her, making sure he lingered on her backside for a few eons, before moving on to the rest of her body. He hands seemed to be stuck again on her chest and again on her waist, roaming all over the area between her legs. He had then proceeded to unhook her skirt, letting it fall down. He had ignored her protests as he proceeded to methodically strip her clothes one by one making her n***d. He then had gazed at her holding both her hands with his right hand over her head. He had even turned her towards the exam in-charge who was distributing the answer sheets and question papers to the invigilators. They had smiled at her making her blush and feel ashamed at her predicament. One of them had even remarked that she needed to put on some “flesh” as she was “too flat”. She had then been made to write the exam totally n***d. It continued till she had finished her exams. That was when she had lost the desire to shout or ask for help as she realized no one could help her. Her mother might but she was too tired these days and Mounika did not want to bother her more with her troubles. So she had kept quiet. Tears escaped her eyes as she thought of her mother. She missed the security her mother’s face brought her. At least she could forget all her humiliations at night. But now she had to face the void her mother had left in her life. Alone. Unsupported. 

The Ragging

She had truly stopped seeking help when she had joined college. The first day of her college had broken her completely. She had gone to the temple as it had been her birthday and also the first day in college. She had dressed in her new green Langa Voni, and a matching blouse. It had been her mother’s birthday gift. She had not worn any jewellery except her ear rings and a gold colour Titan wrist watch. Her new Micromax smart phone lay in her purse. She was proud that she finally had been able to own and use a smart phone while her mother still used the old Nokia 3310 handset. “What will I do with a smart phone? I can’t even understand how they work.” Her mother had said giving the smart phone to her. “You are going to college. You will need a good phone. I can’t let my beautiful daughter to feel ashamed of using an old phone.”

Mounika had hugged her mother happily, never imagining that her first day at college would be a nightmare for her. She had boarded the RTC bus which was already full when she got in. And it was a single door bus as usual. She had ignored the groping and pressing that girls and women had to endure everyday. No one even paid attention to such things anymore. When she had finally stepped down at her college she had been a bit awed by the majestic arch supported by ornate gold pillars???? They weren’t real gold, were they? The gate was equally majestic as the arch, freshly painted obviously.

As she entered the college she observed a group of boys sitting under a tree chatting; seniors obviously. She was a bit nervous since she had to pass by them to go to her class but how to avoid them? She glanced around for a way of bypassing the g**g without turning her head but she couldn’t find any. She sighed in resignation as she walked with her heart in her mouth.

“Oi, Half Saree!”

She tried to walk faster trying to pretend there was more than one girls wearing a half saree.

“Hey, You! The green langa voni! Come here, s**t!”

Unable to escape, her cheeks bright red in shame, she walked to them, her head bowed low.

“Do you think you are a VIP, walking away like that?”

“Sorry, sir. I thought you were calling someone else.”

“What’s your name b***h?”

“Mounika, sir.”

“Mounika, where are you from?”

“Sarvayapalem, sir.”

“Do you have any sisters?”

“No, sir.”

“You know the f**k table?”

“Yes, sir.” This was easy thought Mounika as she started reciting the f**k table. “f**k times one is f**k. f**k times two is f**k. f**k times f**k is f**k f**k fuck.”

“How many times did you receive a f**k Mounika?”

“None, sir.”

“What is your date of birth?”

“26th june 1998 sir.”

“What is the date today guys?”

“26th June.”

“Wow! Man, we have a birthday babe here!”

“Why is she dressed?”

“Why are you dressed, born today Mounika?”

“Why aren’t you in your birthday suit?”

“A new born baby doesn’t have clothes. Why are you wearing clothes, birthday baby? Take them off!”

“What! No sir. Please. This is my first day at college. I will do what you say in private but not here, please.”

“You have two minutes to get n***d or you will be paraded all over the campus totally nude. Choice is yours.” They said whipping out their smart phones and filming and taking pictures of her from different angles. 

Mounika shivered as she realized she would be filmed as she stripped. If she did not do what they asked her to do, she would be paraded n***d and still be filmed. She was trapped. She reluctantly started stripping as the boys filmed her capturing her body from different angles. She had been made to pose like a model posing for a poster or a playboy magazine. When they were satisfied, there were no more angles they could think of, they had finally let her dress and go to her class.

She had been ten minutes late to class and the lecturer had made her strip again and enter the class n***d. When he learnt it was her birthday, he had made her go to each boy in the class, touch his d**k and announce her name. At the end of the lecture he had taken her to his cabin and made her suck him. He had then called the other male staff and they had used her in every way possible. That had numbed her will to resist even when she was humiliated publicly. But she never had been telecast in a live tv show before. XTV had done what no one had done before. Made her an unofficial PP.

Her mother had left her soon unable to bear her daughter’s disgrace, completely heartbroken. She had spent several months in a daze starving herself barely surviving, when she had been taken by some men in a Royal Vehicle that wasn’t stopped by anyone. She had then spent several days in a Royal Hospital where no one questioned a female being given Royal Treatment fit for a Male. She had then been appointed in the school by the Principal Parasuram, who sent off an aura of peace, strength, kindness and security. He had said he was working for Raja Ugra Narasimha Raya Educational Trust.