Being in the 21st century, with technology, digitalization and development being flaunted all over the country and the world at large, the need to talk about this subject, “How safe are women in India?” still reverberates. With a profound understanding of what is happening around us, it is time that the country joins hands to realize the gravity of the issue.
While there are many cases of crime against women that are reported there are a lot more cases that are unreported and the treacherous misdoings persist. The list of crimes against women in India is exhaustive and includes acid attack, child marriages, domestic violence, forceful domestic work, child abuse, dowry deaths, female infanticide/sex-selective abortions, child labour, honour killings, rape, sexual harassment, trafficking, forced for prostitution, and many more. The list of safety laws for women in India is equally exhaustive, but despite formation of various effective rules and regulations by the system to handle and control the crimes against women, the number and frequency of crimes against women are increasing day by day.
The crux of the matter among other factors is that the authorities have not effectively implemented new laws on crimes against women. The majority of rape cases still go unreported. The status of women in the country has been growingly offensive and dreadful over the last few years.
In India a women is reportedly raped every 15 minutes. Multiply that by 24×7, 365 days a year. And keep in mind the majority of rape cases still go unreported!! The statistics on crime against women is even worse: Every 2 minutes, a woman in India is a victim of a crime. This ongoing issue of violence against women raises the real and serious question of whether India is truly ready for a seat on the global table.
One explanation for the ongoing rape problem is the skewed sex ratio. Like China, India has a massive imbalance in its sex ratio. Currently, the ratio of males to females is generally significantly greater than 1, i.e. there are more boys than girls.
Source: NCRB Report, Crime in India-2014
From the above table it is evident that the proportion of crimes against women is on the rise. The distribution of the nature of the crimes committed against women is graphically represented below.
What do these figures indicate? Who do we think is responsible for this grim and shameful situation?
AWAG along with other committed women’s organizations, trade unionists and responsible citizens has collectively addressed the issue in wake of the recent and recurrent heinous episodes against women in Gujarat. The collective named ‘Forum of Concerned Citizens for Naliya Incident’ that was formed following the Naliya Sex Scandal, took on its fight for justice through multipronged interventions such as holding protest demonstrations, press conferences, releasing an open letter addressed to women Sarpanchs of the country, etc.
And the fight for justice towards ensuring the dignity and respect for women continues……