Rape survivor documents her fight in a short film

LUCKNOW: Unlike other rape survivors who prefer to hide their identities, she decided to face the world boldly. Not only this, she also documented her story into a short film to spread awareness among other girls.

Shashi (name changed), a law student now, was raped by an acquaintance in 2012. Facing all the hardships that came her way, she succeeded in getting her perpetrator, a cop, convicted and imprisoned for 10 years. The fight wasn’t easy as it was against a police official.

To tell the world everything she went through after the rape, Shashi decided to make a documentary film of her own case. The 35-minute documentary shows how a young girl who was unaware of the intentions of her ‘uncle’, a police official who frequently visited her home, became his prey one day.

Shashi was raped by the cop when she was alone at home. Soon after the incident, the fight of the girl’s family started.

“The first hurdle that came our way was to get an FIR registered against a police official. The battle continued but finally they (police) had to surrender. Then began the fight in the court which too wasn’t easy,” said Shashi’s father.

Shashi wants to highlight the trauma a rape victim is subjected to, especially when she decides to fight against her perpetrator. “When I thought of making a documentary, I decided to act in it as well. Who else could bring out the pain and anger of a rape victim than the one who underwent it? Thus I took up the challenge,” she said.

The documentary was completed earlier this month.

Shashi wants to showcase the film to a large number of people, especially to young girls, victims of rape and other forms of violence.

“I also want to take it on international platforms to show the world that rape doesn’t mean the end for a victim,” she said.