- At the best of times, the safety and security of women in India is still a work in progress even though the authorities have implemented several measures to ensure the atmosphere is conducive for harmonious living without fear of the unknown. The mostly patriarchal and misogynistic society, where menfolk move around with a sense of entitlement vis-à-vis inflated egos and a false superiority complex, has compounded the issue of women’s safety aspect. Despite making tremendous progress by making their presence felt in every sphere, women continue to be violated bodily and mentally, which is a phenomenon that urges every civil society stakeholder to address forthwith. Has the Indian society changed to accommodate women’s safety aspects?
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PC: SheThePeople
- Unfortunately, growing incidents of rapes and physical assaults on women hasn’t undergone drastic changes showcasing how the matter hasn’t succeeded in ensuring their safety on desired lines. As such, the recent Hampi tourists’ nightmarish suffering isn’t a one-off case. It’s a part of what women live through in India every minute. For the uninitiated, the crime scene near Hampi, Karnataka is painfully picturesque. Gently swirling canal waters ahead, craggy rocks beyond and clear sky above, it’s easy to see why a friendly group chose this site to stargaze and play the guitar. Then, the idyll turned into a nightmare. Mind you, variations of this happen to many women in India with alarming regularity.
PC: Hindustan Times
- The two women in Hampi, an Israeli tourist and her homestay host, were raped. The three men, tourists from the US, Maharashtra, and Odisha, were thrown into the canal. The Odia tourist could not survive. Yes, the police swung into action, arrests have been made. Nonetheless, once again, we have been reminded that a decade plus after the Nirbhaya case, brute sexual violence continues to run rampant across our country. And while it brutalizes women the worst, the men who love them, or simply accompany them, have no security either. A lot of political outrage is along party lines. This too is common and reflects a hellish normalization of sexual brutalities. Remember how last year, after a Spanish tourist travelling with her partner, was gang-raped in Jharkhand, guess what our National Commission for Women was concerned about?
PC: NativePlanet
- That the entire country shouldn’t be vilified. Distressingly, India regularly ranks among the most dangerous countries for women travellers. The basic fact is that Indian women are unsafe in India, and foreign women necessarily end up sharing this condition. Rape is a national problem, said UN’s human rights chief post Nirbhaya. Indian women live in a society where marital rape is legal. Even a wife’s subsequent death doesn’t weaken a husband’s immunity, a high court said last month. Perhaps the Hampi rapists’ experience with the law had taught them that it wouldn’t take their crime too seriously. Honestly, neither does India. This cannot be allowed to be brushed under the carpet anymore. Swift justice should be delivered on the matter.
