Daily Times

There could not be a greater manifestation of our societal predicament of a woman getting raped by a “spiritual healer” under the pretext of solving her domestic problems. Mind everyone, this heart-wrenching incident did not occur in some godforsaken small town situated on the fringes of civilisation but in the heartland of the country’s capital. These quacks have long been milking the social predicaments of simple-minded men and women to fill their deep pockets and often used such victims as an excuse to satiate their inner demons. Social media is littered with accounts of such men asking women to meet them in private or secluded locations in a bid to gain uninterrupted access. While police authorities have already acted on the complaint, simply nabbing this single small fish would not be enough for their attention is needed to protect millions against the greed and lust of a thriving network of conmen. Enticing them with a fascinating concoction of religion and sorcery, spiritual hustlers have become an unfortunate reality in a society whose underbelly is littered with rife stigmatisation and unhappy families. Exasperated by the intensity of fights over issues like infertility, women tend to seek solace in the strangest of places and are willing to do whatsoever is asked of them. That they are not safe either inside the confines of their houses or on the street has been argued to the point of repetition. From cradle to grave and at the hands of their own flesh and blood to strangers on the streets, their protection against the tragic assaults on their lives, their sanctity and their honour cannot be guaranteed anywhere. But by launching a crackdown against those who use their grievances to further their own agendas, the state can at least jump to their defence against one group of aggressors. After all, the true extent of how progressive a country actually is can only be measured by the level of freedom and safety its women enjoy. *