The intersection of caste and patriarchy operates in the realm of legal and justice systems. Through powerful words, the poet ruminates upon how justice precludes a Dalit girl, who was raped and murdered, but whose story remains unheard in a country that rallied for Nirbhaya.
Names used are fictitious.
———-
During a grim and murky night
when even the stars refused to shine
Amoli bled between her thighs
while being devoured by filthy swines.
Though she too bled red
her story was never read
unlike Nirbhaya who was heard.
Amoli’s screams were left unheard.
Her ebony skin
like that of her kin
is the mark of her sin
which led to her ruin.
Even in death,
she is not free
as her lifeless self
hangs from the tree.
Amoli means precious.
But she means nothing.
Neither for them,
nor for us
As she will always be
who she has always been- a Dalit.
(The author is a third year law student, studying in Jindal Global University.)