Suzette Jordan

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Suzette Jordan with her cat

Suzette Jordan (* 1974 ; † March 13, 2015 in Calcutta ) was an Indian activist who became known in the media for the so-called "Park Street rape". Until her death, she fought for the conviction of the perpetrators.

Life

Little is known about Suzette Jordan's life prior to the Park Street incident. She was born in 1974 (location unknown) and was divorced. From this marriage two daughters were born. Her boyfriend died in a motorcycle accident, she said.

At the time of the trial that brought the Park Street incident to justice, Suzette Jordan lived in an apartment in Calcutta with her two daughters and mother . According to their own statements, this type of housing without a male family member is unusual by Indian standards. She was also Catholic and thus belonged to a religious minority in India .

Suzette Jordan died in hospital in March 2015 of complications from meningoencephalitis .

Park Street Rape

On February 6, 2012, Suzette Jordan was the victim of a brutal rape known as "Park Street Rape" in India and beyond. After visiting a bar in an affluent and supposedly modern district of Calcutta, Suzette Jordan accepted a young man's offer to drive her home in his car. This was followed by violent abuse : when she got into the car with her companion, three other men were hiding there. When the car drove off, the rape started. A fifth man was picked up on the way and also participated in the rape. Suzette Jordan was forcibly held and a gun put in her mouth. In addition to sexual violence, there were other physical attacks, for example Suzette was severely bitten. She survived seriously injured and was picked up by one of her daughters and given first aid.

Two days after the incident, Suzette Jordan decided to report the men.

At the time of her death , only three of the five men had been arrested. In December 2015, these three perpetrators were sentenced to 10 years in prison . The other two perpetrators, who had fled by then, were arrested in September 2016 and have been on trial since then. Nothing is known about the outcome of the court ruling .

Political classification

According to Indian law, the identity of rape victims is kept secret. It is common in Indian culture that rape victims are often blamed for the crime themselves, and it is also alleged that women raped bring shame on the family. The Prime Minister of West Bengal , Mamata Banerjee , followed this culture and called Suzette Jordan a liar and accused her of trying to embarrass the government with her charges. Suzette Jordan suffered greatly from this culture , but still decided to give up her anonymity in June 2013 . Her goal was that her rapists should be held accountable; She also wanted to draw attention to the high number of rapes and the associated suppression of victims in India.

“I'm tired of hiding my true identity. I'm tired of the laws and rules of this society. I'm tired of being made to feel ashamed. And I'm tired of being scared because I was raped. Enough is enough. Doesn't alienate my voice, doesn't distort my photo. My name is Suzette Jordan and I no longer want to be known as the gang rape victim of Calcutta's Park Street. "

Based on the Park Street incident, Suzette Jordan campaigned to give rape victims a voice and a face, which many circles credit as very courageous: She spoke out publicly on talk shows and on online media such as Facebook against the humiliation and discrimination of Sacrifice. She became a role model for numerous demonstrations in India against rape and a well-known campaigner for women's rights .

She also briefly worked as a helper on a hotline for rape victims. After her identity was revealed, there was also a lot of resistance to Suzette Jordan, for example she was denied access to a restaurant in Calcutta and she suffered from massive agitation in her neighborhood, which eventually led her to move. Suzette suffered badly from these consequences as well as from the rape itself and even tried to take her own life.

By going public, Suzette Jordan managed to build up a certain amount of pressure and the police investigations started again - they had previously been blocked by the state; one policewoman dealing with this case was even released after she had solved the case.

Suzette's struggle and the resulting public attention in the context of Park Street rape has repeatedly highlighted rape in India : Statistics show that India is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women, with more than 100 reported rapes per day . The number of unreported cases of actual rapes is likely to be much higher: However, many rapes are not reported because in India the victims are still blamed for the sexual violence .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ High court will not intervene in Park Street rape case trial. Retrieved May 12, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c THE 50 MILLION MISSING CAMPAIGN says: Suzette Jordan: My name is not "the Park Street rape victim". In: The 50 Million Missing Campaign: "50 Million Missing". August 23, 2013, accessed May 12, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b Oliver Jungs: Documentation: Women in India: This country is waging a war against its women . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed May 12, 2020]).
  4. ↑ a b c High court will not intervene in Park Street rape case trial. Retrieved May 12, 2020 (English).
  5. ↑ a b Namita Bhandare: Suzette Jordan, the non-victim. March 13, 2015, accessed May 12, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Main Desk: Seven Years Since Shunted, Damayanti Sen To Rejoin Kolkata Police. In: NEWSMEN. September 9, 2019, accessed May 12, 2020 (UK English).
  7. ↑ tagesschau.de: India - the most dangerous country for women. Retrieved May 12, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Jordan, Suzette
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian activist
DATE OF BIRTH 1974
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 2015
Place of death Calcutta