EDITORIAL: More than a week after the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at a government-run teaching hospital in Calcutta angry protests have kept intensifying all over India. Exhausted from a long duty shift she had gone to the medical college’s seminar room for rest from where her half-naked body bearing some 14 injuries was discovered the next morning.
The gruesome nature of the incident outraged people everywhere. Causing further aggravation were reports of an attempt at a cover-up. The hospital administration in its initial report with the police described it as an ‘unnatural death’, suggesting she had committed suicide.
Last Wednesday, tens of thousands of women participated in the “Reclaim the Night”, march demanding safety of movement in public spaces at night, too. On the call of Indian Medical Association doctors observed a countrywide strike on Sunday, seeking support for their “struggle for justice.”
Aside from demanding security in hospitals and safe spaces for rest, the Association also called for strengthening of the law to better protect medical staff against violence. It is worth recalling that following the 2012 public outrage over the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old girl student aboard a bus in Delhi the government had amended the criminal justice system, introducing stricter punishments for the perpetrators, including the death penalty. That though did not serve as a deterrent.
According to a government report, incidents of sexual violence against women peaked at nearly 39,000 in 2016, and in 2018 on an average one woman was raped every 15 minutes across the country.
The National Crime Records Bureau’s (latest available) data for 2022 had registered 31,000 reported rape cases. The actual number, of course, is much higher since most women are reluctant to report to the police because of a culture of victim shaming and also the ease with which the system allows the rapists to get away with the crime.
The NCRB data shows the conviction rate for rape ranged from 27 to 28 percent in the 2018-2022 period. The same fate awaited the present horror, but for massive public protests and a petition filed by the parents of the victim before the Calcutta high court expressing concern over the police handling of the case. Hearing the petition on August 13, the court noted that while the investigation had made little progress the administration’s lack of support for the victim’s family raised suspicion, and transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Ironically, since CBI is a union government’s agency, it is quite likely that the case will fall victim to growing tensions between the Mamta Banerjee-led West Bengal government and Narendra Modi-led union government. However, it must not be forgotten that following similar public outcry in the 2012 case the perpetrators were sentenced to death.
Yet the incidence of sexual violence against women remained high. The problem therefore is not only lax application of law but the entrenched patriarchy in which women are seen as sex objects, normalising rape. The situation is not very different in this country.
There are countless reported and unreported such cases here also. Only a sustained campaign by rights groups against misogynist attitudes and ensuring enforcement of laws can help women ‘Reclaim the Night’ as well as safety of movement at all times.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
Comments
Comments are closed.