This is such an important message today, as we focus on the feminist movements in our society. Not only do cultures need to be visible and respected, but roles within genders, like mothers, need to as well. With this message of hope and comfort, we bring you to the last portion of On the Street.
L - Welcome back! As we wrap up our segment with the highly anticipated interview with Sita, I wanted to share some statistics I have learned today regarding Rakshasi women. According to our national crime statistics, in "2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing" Rakshasi women. Despite this vast amount, just over one under were pursued as police cases. With Women for Rakshasis' help, a study was done over a number of cities revealing that, out of the startling "506" cases concerning Rakshasi women, "128" were declared missing and "208" were murdered. The rest were inconclusive and have yet to be solved. Beyond the social oppression and economic difficulties this group faces, violence, from mainly human perpetrators, is their main threat. Getting this information out to Rakshasis and humans is only a small part of what WfR does. And with that, we introduce our final interviewee of the morning, Sita.
S - Good morning. I'd like to begin by thanking you for sharing those statistics. Knowledge is most certainly power around here and every new person who knows is another building block in our case.
L - You're welcome. Would you be comfortable with starting off telling us a bit about yourself? I'm sure our viewers at home have no problem identifying you better yet knowing, or at least perceiving to know, your life story.
S - Oh, of course! I definitely want the focus to be on what this rally is about and why we are here, but I'd be happy to share some details. I'm Sita, the famed abandoned wife of Rama. I had barely started my life before I married Rama, so it does not shock me that people associate me with him. Truly, I do love him, with all of my heart. It hurts to know he chose his people over me, but if anything, it gave me the opportunity to focus on my passion, the Rakshasi movement. I have never been alone when he has left me, or I have been taken. Even when I was captured and kept as a prisoner, I met my best friend and confidant, Trijata. I heard you got to talk to her earlier.
L - Yes we heard about your time together from her, but I am interested in hearing it from your perspective.
S - Well it was not a fun time for me at all. Which most of you know. I have always suffered from major depressive disorder and I could not mentally handle being separated from Rama. He was my everything. And though she has helped me realize that I am my own person since then, Trijata did not judge me for being so attached then. When I heard he had died, I immediately wanted to die. There was honestly no point in me living. But Trijata kept me going. It pissed me off then, but I am endlessly appreciative of her now. Not only has she helped me cope with the abandonment, she has helped me gain respect and trust in the Rakshasi communities.
L - How has that helped with your cause?
S - Women for Rakshasi is an organization focused on bringing legal help, social solidarity, and safety from violent environments to Rakshasis. When Trijata and I started... Well, let me correct that. When Trijata helped start this movement and asked me to join, I found that human women really did not know what Rakshasis faced on a day-to-day basis. They were the stuff of books and the people negatively depicted, if at all, in the news. From there on, we focused on spreading real and affirming facts. My personal focus is on social solidarity. As a human woman, I know many of these Rakshasis do not, and probably will not ever, like me. And who can blame them? I represent a group that has done nothing but harm them. But I use what relationships I can form to bring more humans and Rakshasis together. Maybe one day we'll all live together as a big, happy community.
L - That's amazing, Sita. Do you have any advice for our human viewers who want to get involved?
S - Yes! The internet is a great resource. If you have friends who are Rakshasis, you can ask them for their experience, but if they seem uncomfortable then please do not push them. It is not their job to explain their plight to you. This is why I highly recommend Google. We have a website, WomenforRakshasis.com, and there are plenty of educational resources on there as well. Beyond educating yourself, I ask that people give their time. Whether it's making care packages for Rakshasis who are transitioning out of violent situations or even retweeting when we have a rally. Any effort counts and will bring us a step closer to our goal of unity.
L - Thank you, Sita. We'll let you get back to the rally. I know you have a lot to do today. We truly appreciate the work you're doing and carving out time to meet with us.
Now we're headed back to the home base for our news segment. I'm Lindsay Ross, and this has been On the Street.
. . .
author's note
So, for this one I definitely went full swing into the MMIW theme. All of the statistics references are actual numbers regarding Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. I laid off the background information for Sita, as it is true that most people know who she is. I wanted to depict her as a calm, collected older lady who does not really give a s$!t if people know about her or not. She is done with that life. She is now solely focused on this movement and empowering her sisters. I had a fun time searching for the ad again. Although I really did reach out, I ended up landing on the ad that comes after the education one in the video compilation. This ad focuses on women's roles in India and, although I am still not supportive of all that is going on in the video, it means well and is supportive of the mother's role in the family. I thought this would set a good tone for the ending of our feminist adventure. I wanted to give more of an appropriate ending to the interview, but it should not necessarily be a life changing thing. On the base level it is still a woman who is trying to get stuff done and the interview is taking away from that. I wanted to get a last bit in about educating yourself, as I find that super important. This applies to basically all minoritized populations: please use Google first and don't use your friends as your sole resource. As a Native woman, I do not speak for all Native women and wouldn't want to.
. . .
Want to comment? Head on over to my Comment Wall!
Ad Courtesy of ~ Epic World
Banner Image Courtesy of ~ StockSnap
Story Information Courtesy of ~
The Urban Indian Health Institute - Report on MMIW
Wikipedia - Sita