Europe, 14.7 in Latin America and 40.2 inSouthern African region. The annualrape rate in India increased from 1.9 to 2.0per 100,000 people over the 2008-2012period. It was 1.2 in Japan, 3.6 inMorocco, 4.6 in Bahrain, 12.3 in Mexico, 24.1 in the United Kingdom, 28.6 in theUnited States, and 114.9 in South Africa.

The growing crimes against women inIndia expose how hollow our claims tosome of our finest historical traditions

and human values really are ! Father of theIndian Nation Mahatma Gandhi believedin women’s right to education, dress ,divorce, remarriage , employment anddeclared, “I am uncompromising in thematter of women’s rights. In my opinion,she should labour under no legal disabilitynot suffered by men. ” He rejected theprojection of women as a weaker sex andsaid, “ To call woman the weaker sex is alibel; it is man’s injustice to woman. If bystrength is meant brute strength, then,indeed, is woman less brute than man. Ifby strength is meant moral power, thenwoman is immeasurably man’s superior.Has she not greater intuition, is she notmore self-sacrificing, has she not greatercourage? Without her man could not be.If non-violence is the law of our being, thefuture is with woman… Who can make amore effective appeal to the heart thanwoman?”

Influenced by the ideas of Gandhi andother stalwarts of our freedom struggle ,the Indian Constitution has incorporatedseveral provisions to ensure the equalityof status to women in our society andfoster their multi-faceted development .The state governments are obliged toprotect women’s (every body’s)fundamental rights. However, the patternhas been one of utter failure on the part ofalmost all of them even in defendingwomen's honour in our land . As has beenfound in some of the recent rape cases incertain states , such crimes have allegedlybeen committed not only by local goonsbut also by influential politicians andpolice officials . Some recent statementsmade by some ruling party leaders insome states clearly show the governmenttrivializes rape thereby encouraging thecallousness of its officials in dealing withthe cases of violence against women .

This scenario demands that allconscientious Indians , irrespective oftheir gender, caste , creed , region orreligion, must stand united and prevailupon the new government led by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi at the Centre tointervene and take effective measures to

Like it or not, India is beingincreasingly unsafe for women .A careful analysis of the variousauthentic studies conducted by

the National Crime Records Bureau, theHuman Rights Watch and other agenciesreveals that, with an ever- increasingnumber of rape incidents in the country,their very honour is in peril . Most rapesgo unreported in India as elsewhere in theworld due to the victims’ fear ofretaliation or humiliation . The majorityof victims has been in the 18-30 year agegroup. Of them 12.5 per cent victimshave been minors in India as against 17.4per cent in the United States. More than7,200 minors are raped each year in India.In sex trafficking and crime againstminors India ranks the seventh worstwhile China ranks first , Russia eleventhand Indonesia fourteenth .

The analysis reveals that in 2012 over24,923 rape cases were reported acrossIndia . Its five- year average ( 2007-2011 )was 22,000 rapes a year. The totalreported number of rapes was highest inMadhya Pradesh , followed by UttarPradesh and West Bengal . New Delhihad the highest number of rape-reportsamong the Indian cities, followed byMumbai . Jabalpur in Madhya Pradeshhad the highest per capita incidence ofrapes. The rape rate per 100,000 peoplewas highest in Mizoram (10.4), followedby Tripura, Meghalaya, Sikkim andAssam.

India accounted for a rape rate of 2 per100,000 people, compared to 8.1 Western

Women's Rights

The growing crimes against women in Indiaexpose how hollow our claims to some ofour finest historical traditions and humanvalues really are ! Father of the Nation

Mahatma Gandhi believed in the equality of status towomen in our society and advocated their right toeducation, dress , divorce, remarriage andemployment. But his dream is still a far cry, lamentsJagdish N Singh

Honour in peril !

July 2014 Power Politics58

Father of the NationMahatma Gandhi said : “I am

uncompromising in thematter of women’s rights. In

my opinion, she shouldlabour under no legal

disability not suffered bymen. ”

protect women’s honour and rights in thecountry . The current dispensation inNew Delhi cannot escape itsresponsibility by arguing that such crimesare a law- and-order subject (the StateList) to be taken care of by the stategovernments concerned only . TheCentre is under moral and legalobligations to invent ways and means tomake the state governments function in a

way that women citizens’ rights are notviolated in any case .

Significantly, the Government of Indiahas recently reformed its penal code forcrimes of rape and sexual assault. Also,India’s Women and Child DevelopmentMinister Maneka Gandhi has assuredthat the Centre will set up cells to provideambulance services and medical and legalhelp to rape victims. But such measuresare unlikely to be much help. The crimesagainst women have to be stopped beforethey are committed.

The pattern in the matter has beenthat anti-social elements indulge in suchcrimes under different pretexts. Duringthe tragic partition of India they wereestimated to have kidnapped and rapedover 100,000 women on both sides of theborder spreading hatred against the

Resolution 3571 and Senate Resolution2307—calls to address the problems ofviolence against women in countrieswhere it is engaged in foreign assistance.

This does not but demand allgenuinely free and democratic nations tomake special efforts at neutralizing suchideologies as deny the equality of status towomen in society . One would suggestthey could take on the evil of Wahhabismon a priority basis. This doctrine hasbeen spreading a highly fanatical versionof the peace and justice- loving religion ofIslam . It has caused some of the worstforms of violence against this gender in alarge part of the world, including theMiddle East and South Asia .

The doctrine justifies crimes against

women such as female genital mutilationand forced child marriage. Under itsinfluence many current regimes in theMuslim world have been practicingseveral policies detrimental to theirwomen segments of population .According to a report of the Time , thestate of Saudi Arabia practises thenotorious guardian system, under whicha woman must have a male relative'spermission to marry, procure a passportor travel . She cannot drive. Even todayjust about 16 per cent women work in theKingdom.

followers of each other’s religion. In thepost-Independence landscape these anti-social elements have invented also otherkinds of hatred, including caste basedones , to commit such crimes.

The Central leadership in India mustensure that its legal and securitymechanism is effective to prevent suchcrimes against women and punish theirperpetrators without any delay . For thiswhat is needed most is a healthy outlookon this gender and the determination onthe part of the political leadership todefend it . This has sadly been missing inIndia. It can clearly be discerned in somerecent statements of certain influentialpoliticians of ruling parties in the countrythat they still retain a highly inhuman andfeudalistic view of this gender.

Prime Minister Modi could probablybe tough with such elements in Indianpolitics today. One wishes he wereinspired here by the legendary IsraeliPrime Minister Golda Meir . A story goesthat when she was asked to place acurfew on women to help end a series ofrapes, Meir retorted : “ It is the men whoare attacking the women. If there is to bea curfew, let the men stay at home.”

One hopes the conscientious citizensof India were also vigilant to make thegovernments at the Centre and in thestates function in the manner they aresupposed to under India’s Constitution .Pertinently, the entire enlightenedinternational community today has to bevigilant to defend women’s rights theworld over. It should prevail over theUnited Nations and all liberal democraticgovernments , the U.S. Administration inparticular, to address the women’s rightsviolations wherever they take place .

The statistics mentioned earlier in thispiece clearly suggests the women’s rightsscenario is not bright even in some of theWestern nations . This has to be set right. The United Nations system was createdwith a mandate to foster development ofall sections of humanity. It cannot affordto overlook this vital human section’srights. As for the United States , it claimsto be a messenger of a ‘manifest destiny’with the mission to spread the greathuman values enshrined in its ownconstitution . The US InternationalViolence Against Women Act—House

Women's Rights

July 2014 Power Politics56

The new government underPrime Minister Narendra

Modi must ensure that ourlegal and security

mechanism is effectiveenough to prevent all crimesagainst women and punish

their perpetrators.

When asked to place acurfew on women to helpend a series of rapes, thelegendary Israeli Prime

Minister Golda Meir retorted: “ It is the men who areattacking the women. Ifthere is to be a curfew, letthe men stay at home.”