Modi Sarkar Fails To Stop ¡®Naari Par Var¡¯, India Is Officially Most Dangerous Country For Women

¡°Bahot hua naari par vaar, abki baar Modi Sarkar¡±

The Modi government is a glaring example of failing to provide safety to the women of the country. Sexual violence, abuse and trafficking of women are at an all-time high. According to a survey by Thomson Reuters Foundation, India is the world¡¯s most dangerous country for women due to high risk of sexual violence and being forced into slave labour.

In early January this year, the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Rasana village near Kathua in Jammu took the entire country by storm. Many heads hung in shame realising that the country has once again failed its daughters. Questions were raised ¨C What happened to Beti Bachao? Was it a slogan or a warning? Will our government ensure justice to those victimised?

The 5600-word charge sheet filed in the case was spine-chilling. She was held captive for several days inside a temple and after taking turns to rape her, she was strangled to death and hit with heavy stones on her head.

The gruesome incident drew widespread condemnation.

India has remained an extremely unsafe nation for women giving the deep-rooted patriarchy and taboo. However, over the past few years, sexual crimes against women and children have grown manifold.

Also read: Safety Is A Luxury That Almost No Indian Woman Can Afford

The December 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case, involving a rape and fatal assault on a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, triggered nation-wide protests and led to formation of new laws on crimes against women in the country.

PTI

A week after the horrific attack on Nirbhaya on 16 December 2012, the Justice JS Verma Committee was set up to review our criminal laws and recommend amendments to them.

Its main objectives were proper addressing all sorts of sexual crimes and ensuring speedier trials and enhanced punishment.

The Committee¡¯s huge 644-page report, which was published within a month formed the basis of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013, after first being implemented as an ordinance.

The 2013 Act expanded the definition of rape to include oral sex as well as the insertion of an object or any other body part into a woman¡¯s vagina, urethra or anus. The punishment for rape was also made stricter.

But how much have things really changed?
Not much.

India continues to be a terrifying place for women.

According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report of 2016, is the latest, crimes against women have gone up, including cases of rape. Cyber crimes have registered a sharp increase of 6.3 per cent, from 11,592 in 2015 to 12,317 in 2016.

Cases under "crime against women" category reported an increase of 2.9 per cent in 2016 over 2015. Majority of these cases ¡°cruelty by husband or his relatives¡± (32.6 per cent) followed by ¡°assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty" (25.0 per cent), ¡°kidnaping and abduction of women¡± (19.0 per cent) and ¡°rape¡± (11.5 per cent)

Rape cases have reported an increase of 12.4 per cent from 34,651 cases in 2015 to 38,947 in 2016. Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh reported the highest incidence of rape with 4,882 (12.5 per cent) and 4,816 (12.4 per cent) respectively, followed by Maharashtra 4,189 (10.7 per cent) during 2016.

Uttar Pradesh reported 14.5 per cent (49,262) of the total cases of crimes against women followed by West Bengal (9.6 per cent) (32,513 cases), during 2016. Delhi reported the highest crime rate (160.4) compared to the national average rate of 55.2.

"India has shown utter disregard and disrespect for women ... rape, marital rapes, sexual assault and harassment, female infanticide has gone unabated," said Manjunath Gangadhara, a Karnataka government official.

Also read: 94% Of Rape Accused Are Known To Victims, 89% POSCO Cases Still Pending, Reveals Govt Record

"The (world's) fastest growing economy and leader in space and technology is shamed for violence committed against women."

Reuters

Government data shows reported cases of crimes against women rose by 83 per cent between 2007 and 2016 when there were four cases of rape reported every hour.

Respondents also ranked India the most dangerous country for women in terms of human trafficking, including sex slavery and domestic servitude, and for customary practices such as forced marriage, stoning and female infanticide.

United States ranks third

War-torn Afghanistan and Syria ranked second and third in the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts on women's issues, followed by Somalia and Saudi Arabia.

The only western nation in the top 10 was the United States, which ranked joint third when respondents were asked where women were most at risk of sexual violence, harassment and being coerced into sex.

Also read: Are You Even Worthy Of Rape?

The rising number of crimes against women reflects decayed mentality where still a woman¡¯s role is deemed to fulfil the physical needs of men and bear children in many parts of the country.

¡°The world¡¯s second-most populous nation, with 1.3 billion people, ranked as the most dangerous on three of the topic questions¡ªthe risk of sexual violence and harassment against women, the danger women face from cultural, tribal, and traditional practices, and the country where women are most in danger of human trafficking including forced labour, sex slavery, and domestic servitude,¡± the Foundation said.

The survey only echoed the painful truth ¨C India is the worst place to be a woman.