Smothered Screams: The Story of a Dalit Woman

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.)