印度少女“玩偶”的悲剧故事
爱思英语编者按:去年12月,新德里一名23岁的女大学生在一辆行驶的巴士上遭到轮奸并在此后因伤去世。自此以后,印度就卷入了如何更好地保护女性免遭性侵犯的争论当中。被曝光的事件仅仅是九牛一毛,冰山一角。本文的主人公古迪娅(Gudiya)是众多受害女子中的一名,仅14岁的她就被强奸并被迫卖淫。
In India, The Tragic Dilemma Of 'Doll'
In Hindi, gudiya means 'doll.' It was the nickname of a tiny 14-year-old girl with a light complexion, long black hair and a round face. She was given the name by the people who sent her to have paid sex with men in neighborhoods on the fringes of South Delhi over five months, starting two years ago.
Since last December, when a 23-year-old New Delhi student died after being gang-raped on a moving bus, India has been embroiled in debate over how to better protect women against sexual assault (a need highlighted by this week's news of the rape of a 30-year-old American tourist). The story of Gudiya, pieced together through interviews and official reports, points to a different sort of abusive treatment: the exploitation of women, including many children, for sex. (Gudiya's real name is being withheld in accordance with India's laws governing juveniles.)
In 2004, as a small girl, Gudiya lived with her parents on a quiet street in Govindpuri, a messy, broiling New Delhi neighborhood. Her father, Jitender Gupta, had recently been released from prison for a murder conviction. In 2005, Gudiya's mother died from tuberculosis.
Mr. Gupta worked long hours selling vegetables from the roadside. He struggled with Gudiya. He beat her with his belt and fists, his daughter later told authorities. His response, in an interview: I didn't. But if I did, it was for her own good.
Their relationship became so sour that Gudiya was put in an orphanage, where she stayed for three years before walking out when she was roughly 13. She bounced among various relatives before returning to her father. In late May 2011, saying she feared violence when her father came home drunk, Gudiya, then 14, took off─ultimately finding refuge with a woman called Pooja Pandey back in the neighborhood where Gudiya had grown up. They were already acquainted: Ms. Pandey knew Gudiya and her father because her husband also ran a vegetable stall.
But the couple didn't tell Gudiya's father where she was. Instead, Ms. Pandey viewed the young girl as a possible wife for her nephew. She tried to talk Gudiya into the marriage, but the girl balked. Ms. Pandey presented her with a choice, according to a statement the older woman later gave to police: 'You either marry with our nephew or do prostitution.'
Gudiya was silent, according to her own later statement to a judge. That night, Ms. Pandey and her husband, Sandeep, took Gudiya to Mr. Pandey's village in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which borders Delhi to the east, according to an account provided by Gudiya as well as police statements by the Pandeys. She still refused to wed.
Gudiya was given bitter white alcohol to drink. Then Mr. Pandey took her to the roof of the house and told her to lie down. Ms. Pandey held Gudiya's hands. Mr. Pandey undressed and raped her, according to both women and Mr. Pandey's police statement. The couple could not be reached for comment.
The next morning, the husband and wife returned to Delhi, leaving Gudiya in the village. A month later, Gudiya rejoined them. Mr. Pandey raped her repeatedly─and with his wife's knowledge─over three days, according to all three. The couple brought other men to her as well, charging them each 500 rupees ($9), according to the Pandeys' statements and to Gudiya. Gudiya later told a counselor that there were other young girls working at the house. (The counselor's report and others were provided, in redacted form, by Delhi's child-protection agency.)
Prostitution is not illegal in India, but related activities, such as soliciting and running a brothel, are. Having sex with a minor is considered rape.
Around August 2011, Gudiya was subcontracted out for one week to another couple who ran a prostitution racket, Ms. Pandey's statement said. The deal was that Gudiya was to have sex with seven men a day for seven days, Gudiya later told a counselor. She also told the counselor that when the woman of the house realized how young she was, the number of days was reduced to four.
When her contract was over, Gudiya returned to stay with Pooja Pandey. Months later, the Pandeys were arrested and charged with a range of crimes, including gang-rape, earning from prostitution and inducing a person into prostitution. The other couple whom Gudiya said she worked for at that time face similar charges. All deny the charges, their lawyers say. Their trial has yet to begin.
For more than a year, Gudiya has been cared for in a juvenile rehabilitation home in Delhi. Her father says he met her toward the end of last month. 'Papa, let me study right now,' he says she told him. Of her stay in the juvenile-care home, she added: 'I am fine here.' She will turn 16 later this month.
在印地语中,“gudiya”的意思是“玩偶”,它也是一个个头小小的14岁女孩的别名。她长着一张圆圆的脸蛋,肤色白皙,有一头乌黑的长发。两年前,她被人带到位于南德里周边的社区从事了五个月的性交易,这个名字就是那些人给她取的。
去年12月,新德里一名23岁的女大学生在一辆行驶的巴士上遭到轮奸并在此后因伤去世。自此以后,印度就卷入了如何更好地保护女性免遭性侵犯的争论当中(前不久一名30岁的美国女游客在印度遭到强奸的消息更是凸显了该举措的必要性)。我们只能从讯问材料和官方的报告拼凑出古迪娅(Gudiya)的故事,它揭露了印度的另外一种虐待行为──利用女性(其中包括许多女童)作为性工具。(依照印度与青少年有关的相关法规,古迪雅的真实姓名被隐去。)
在2004年时,古迪娅还是一个女童,她与父母住在戈温德普里(Govindpuri)──新德里一个混乱酷热的社区──一条僻静的街道上。那时她的父亲吉滕德尔•古普塔(Jitender Gupta)谋杀罪刑满出狱不久。2005年,她的母亲因肺结核去世。
古普塔以在路边贩卖蔬菜为生,每天工作很长时间。他时常殴打古迪娅,后来古迪娅告诉警方他会用皮带抽打她、用拳头揍她。古普塔在讯问中的回答则是:“我没有,就算我这么做了,那也是为了她好。”
他们的关系变得非常糟糕,古迪娅也因此被送到了孤儿院。她在孤儿院呆了三年时间,大概在13岁的时候离开了那儿。她不断在不同的亲戚家借住,最后回到了自己父亲身边。2011年5月底,当时已14岁的古迪娅离家出走,她说因为她害怕父亲喝醉酒回家施暴。后来她来到她长大的那个社区,躲在一个名叫普嘉•潘迪(Pooja Pandey)的女人的家中。她们早已相识,因为普嘉的丈夫也摆了一个蔬菜摊,所以她认识古迪娅和她的父亲。
然而,普嘉与丈夫并未向古迪娅的父亲透露她的行踪。当时普嘉认为这个年轻女孩或许可以嫁给她的侄子,于是试图说服古迪娅同意这桩婚事,但古迪娅有所犹豫。根据普嘉本人后来对警方的陈述,她给了古迪娅另外一个选择:“要么嫁给我们的侄子,要么就去做妓女。”
古迪娅自己后来向法官陈述,当时她保持了沉默。根据她的陈述以及潘迪夫妇向警方所做的陈述,那天晚上普嘉与丈夫桑迪普(Sandeep)将古迪娅带到了桑迪普在北方邦的家乡──一个东部与德里交界的村庄,但她仍然拒绝嫁给潘迪的侄子。
根据古迪娅与潘迪夫妇对警方的陈述,古迪娅被令喝下烈性白酒,然后桑迪普把她带到房子的屋顶上并命她躺下。普嘉抓住她的手,桑迪普脱去她的衣服,然后强暴了她。记者无法联系到潘迪夫妇置评。
第二天早晨,普嘉与桑迪普返回德里,把古迪娅留在村子里。一个月后,古迪娅重新和他们呆在了一起。根据他们三人的陈述,桑迪普在三天时间内多次强奸了古迪娅,而且普嘉对此也知情。此外,他们的陈述也表露,普嘉与桑迪普还让古迪娅接客,收费是每人500卢比(约合人民币53元)。古迪娅后来告诉一名律师说还有其他年轻女孩在那儿接客。(律师的报告及其他报告由德里的儿童保护机构提供,均经过了编辑。)
卖淫在印度不属违法行为,但拉皮条与开妓院等相关活动则是违法的。与未成年人发生性关系被视为强奸。
据普嘉陈述,2011年8月左右,她把古迪娅转包给另一对做妓院生意的夫妇共一星期时间。后来古迪娅告诉律师,根据协议她要连续七天接客,每天接客七人,掌管妓院的女人了解到她年纪很小后把她的接客天数减到了四天。
转包合同结束后,古迪娅又回到普嘉身边。几个月后,普嘉与桑迪普被捕并被指控犯下一系列罪行,其中包括轮奸、组织卖淫获利和胁迫他人卖淫。那对古迪娅声称曾为他们工作的夫妇也遭到了同样的指控。他们的律师称当事人全都否认这些指控。目前针对他们的审判尚未开始。
这一年多来,古迪娅一直呆在德里的一家少年教养院。她的父亲说他在5月底去看望了女儿,女儿还对他说“爸爸,现在让我读书吧”。至于她在这个教养院的生活,古迪娅说她在那儿过得不错。到6月底的时候,她就满16岁了。