Ever since she was brutally raped by a neighbour last month, four-year-old Gudiya* regularly has nightmares about her attacker and often wakes up in the middle of the night crying.
Her parents and neighbours know this because they have been taking turns to stay awake every night ever since that horrific day.
The crime ended up uniting the five-odd families in the immediate neighbourhood of the victim’s home, located in an isolated area of Outer Delhi’s Shahbad Dairy area.
“There are around a dozen girls in our families. After the incident, we realised we have to help each other to protect our girls,” said Mumtaz*, a local resident.
The adults go to work every day in the morning, but they ensure that at least one of them stays at home to look after the children.
Gudiya’s father, a mason, was away at work and her mother was in the market when a neighbouring youth raped her on July 24.
Since the families cannot afford ACs or coolers, they sleep outside their homes at night. “After the rape incident, at nights we assemble all our cots at one place and sleep nearby so that anyone’s cry for help is heard by everyone,” said Gudiya’s mother, Rohini*.
But the families felt this wasn’t enough, so now they take turns to keep awake at night. “We keep awake for four hours each. It is difficult, so we are waiting for winters to arrive so that we can sleep safely indoors,” Ms. Rohini said.
The rape incident has scarred Gudiya as well as other children of this tiny locality. “Gudiya suddenly wakes up in the middle of her sleep and says she dreamt of him (the rapist) beating her,” said Gudiya’s father Mukesh*.
Unlike earlier when the children in this locality could play anywhere they wanted, the parents here have restricted their movement. A small ground in a walled complex is their playground now.
*Names changed
There are around a dozen girls in our families. After the rape incident, we realised we have to help each other to protect our girls
