For a long time, New Delhi has been termed the most unsafe place for women. It has been called the ‘Rape Capital’ of the country because of the terrible number of rape cases that are reported in the city every day. if we were to use reported rape cases as a benchmark.
However, Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB 2012), using the number of reported rape cases as a benchmark shows that this record is held by the small town of Jabalpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh tops the list in terms of the number of reported rape crimes. Jabalpur has reported 14.4 rape cases for every 100,000 women in the city, which is an increase of 36% from 2011.
In 2015, Photographer & Feminist, Neha Gupta visited Jabalpur and in January 2016 went back there again & spent the next few months photographing the everyday life of women & girls in ‘Jabalpur’ & its neighboring villages.
Apart from the fact that Neha Gupta’s photography is a window into the soul of people and a vibrant adulation of her love for India, this particular photography project which she calls “In the Village of Fury” is so poignant in the humanity it portrays. She makes you ponder on how rape became a cultural fabric of any society and how one gender has been made to feel entitled to women’s bodies.
You should read, ‘Raising Your Voice for Girl Issues‘ by Mahnoor Siddiqui.
Neha Gupta is a Professional Photographer and contributor at Getty Images. She is a Financial Market Geek with an MBA Fin. The Village of Fury series can be found on her website. You should also follow her work on Instagram & Twitter.