GIVEN the epidemic of rape incidents continuing to hit the headlines, it is evident that there is something seriously wrong with the society we are living in. We must recall the words of the late Jawaharlal Nehru: “You can tell the condition of the nation by looking at the status of women.” In fact, safety of women in India has always been a cause for consternation, throwing to the winds all talk of women’s emancipation. Even before we forgot the horrifying gang rape of December 2012 in Delhi, we have heard the shocking news of the rape of a five-year old. What happened to the innocent girl at the hands of a rapist has no parallel in human history. Could cruelty go any further? Even as the national capital protests against the heinous nature of the child’s brutal rape, it is yet another reminder that India continues to be a country highly unsafe for women and girls.
Such shameful incidents make us wonder whether we are living in a civilised society. It is disgusting that even as the people have taken to protest in a massive way against the evil crime of rape, more cases are being reported everyday. It is an indication of the lack of value placed on a women’s physical anatomy that men feel that they have a licence to molest. It is also suggestive of a level of societal indifference to such crimes. After the death of the gang rape victim in December last year, the government appeared to move to rectify the reputation Delhi was assuming as the rape capital of the world. But after four months, there is little change. The official response is on expected lines – will bring culprits to book, fasttrack the case and so on. The tragedy is that our leaders as usual have expressed deep concern over the heinous incident and reiterated the need for society to look deep within. The High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter and is monitoring the situation in the capital, with police and govt. submitting regular reports about the action taken.
We also need to introspect on the reason for the increasing brutality in society. The sheer savagery of the brutal rape of a minor has fuelled outrage across the country even as it has triggered a sense of national shame. What is evident in that the recent amendments to the law against sexual crimes have not made big difference on the ground. Despite the fact that India has some substantial laws to check crimes against women, the unchanging feudal mindset of the people has not yet been able to emancipate women of this country. Indeed, atrocities against women are a routine affair in India. Recurring incidents barely create a ripple beyond the initial hue and cry. Many people in our largely patriarchal society are completely insensitive when it comes to such incidents; persons with primitive instincts consider women as weak creatures. They consider themselves strong and brave when they commit violence against them. There is definitely something wrong with our society with its high acceptance level of crimes against women. It is very true that we need to see rape as part of a bigger problem, which is our acceptance of violence.
The presumption that stricter laws will bring down crimes against women stands negated. It is no longer enough to pass tough laws and move on as if the job is done. While some amendments to the law have been made they don’t seem to have worked. The PM’s claim that “we have moved with speed in strengthening the law to be able to deal more effectively with offences against women” is only partly true because some of the valid suggestions made by the Justice Verma committee were not accepted. The fasttrack court has not worked fast enough. Even after four months of the Delhi gang rape nobody has been punished. The police have the victim’s statement, eyewitness account and other vital proof. But surprisingly, no verdict has been delivered yet.  Had the accused been punished by now, it could have worked as a deterrent.
At the heart of the present problem lies the callousness of sections of officialdom. It has been reported that earlier this month, a 10-year-old rape victim was put behind bars with women cops cajoling the child’s family to settle with the rapist instead of filing an FIR.  In the case of the five- year-old girl who was raped in Delhi, the police allegedly avoided filing the FIR, delayed acting on it and even tried to bribe her family by offering Rs.2000 as hush money so that they do not go to higher authorities. More often than not, traumatized victims have to battle law enforcers’ social and gender prejudices who either discredit the victim’s statement or worse still, disregard the complaint. This naturally emboldens the criminals who feel that women are fair game and they have every chance of getting away with it. The police usually procrastinate on registering cases. Also, the lengthy and cumbersome judicial process does little to help the cause of rape victims. The police should change their behaviour towards rape victims. Better policing,              forensic facilities and faster judgments may help deter such crimes.  
But all this can happen only when authorities take their duties seriously. It does not help at all that no sooner such crimes are brought to light than they are politicised. So we see a situation where politicians bring up the rape cases as a weapon to hit at each other. When we have legislators charged with rape and murder sitting in parliament, will stringent laws ever be implemented? Police reforms should be implemented, the force insulated from political interference and professionalised. The political class should refrain from diluting strong laws for trivial seasons. Also, petty political interests should not override vital security concerns. No law will achieve its purpose unless its enforcers show the requisite political will, courage and conviction to deal ruthlessly with crimes against women.
The fast-rising crime graph shows that the fear of law has virtually disappeared. And our criminal Justice system is mainly to blame. Criminals rarely get exemplary punishment. Then we have the culture of police spending too much of its time and energy on the security of the VIPs, leaving ordinary citizens to fend for themselves. Recently Mr. Ambani demanded the he should be accorded security because he faces a threat. But what is ironical is that most Indians are unsafe. The situation on the ground has not changed a bit since the Delhi gang rape four months ago. The police continue to be insensitive towards hapless victims and their families. Our public places and transport facilities are as unsafe as ever. The new law passed by parliament has provisions against policemen guilty of dereliction of duty. These provisions need to be invoked and strictly enforced. But going beyond this, India has to shed its feudal, orthodox mindset about women who constitute half of the population.