After one year of the Nirbhaya Incident of Dec 2012 has anything changed for women in India.
The "rarest of the rare crimes," that took place on the 16th of December 2012 in Delhi where a 23 year old physiotherapy student was brutally gang-raped by six salacious men in a moving bus is a chilling reminder of growing crime against women in India.
Nirbhaya was the name given to that brave heart who succumbed to death while undergoing treatment in Singapore. After that, there is huge attention given to address this problem.
Though we have not seen any radical changes in the crime against women after that incident, it is noted that such cases is getting huge attention by the media. That incident has spurred more women to speak out and voice their opinions instead of hiding them due to societal pressure.
Even few high profile cases such as the arrest of editor-in-chief of Tehelka, one of the leading magazines in India, for sexually abusing his female colleague have electrified the people. This was because the victim has divulged the details of crime with courage and great conviction.
Many political parties have also shown promising signs for ensuring women's safety. We see few parties endorsing "Womanifesto" which is a 6 point promulgation supported by the group Avaaz to make the Indian Capital safe for women.
Even the Chief Justice of India, P. Sathasivam, has commented on women's safety and has asked the courts to prioritize cases pertaining to crime against women.
The Government of India announced a 1000 crore Nirbhaya fund for the safety and empowerment of women. An additional 1000 crore for this fund was announced in the Union Budget 2014-2015 recently. The government announced installing GPS and emergency buttons on public vehicles, toll-free numbers, help desks for women, closed circuit TV and so on.
Despite a plethora of funds, the usage of such funds has never been done for the purpose it is created. Fast track courts were established to speed up sexual assault cases but out of 24923 reported rapes in India in 2012, only 24% resulted in conviction. Around 706 rape cases were recorded in 2012 and 1330 cases till October 2013 in Delhi.
These show that crimes against women are never-ending, even after sentencing those culprits involved in the Nirbhaya incident to the gallows, the rape cases have only escalated.
Just a day after the ruthless crime in Delhi, a 3 year old girl was allegedly raped in school, on the 17th of December 2012.
The gang rape of a 22 year old lady by 13 men on the orders of village elders in West Bengal as a punishment for the lady for apparently "loving" a man from a different community has again horrified the nation as was the case of Nirbhaya.
It is very disheartening to see such shameless crimes against women being perpetrated in India.
Why are women treated in a manner? Is it a sin to be born as a woman? Why there is so much of inequality and injustices? What is the remedy? These questions are asked by every young girl in India.
The need of the hour is to bring in a change in the attitude of men not change the laws. Before touching a woman, man should realize that his mother is a woman too. If this realization comes in, the crime against women will come down too.
G.R.Hiranmai
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