India: Where Rapes Don’t Cease!
The 16th December 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and assault by six men and assault of her male friend in a moving bus, which resulted in the death of a 22-year-old, will be forever remembered, not only by the nation but by every citizen in the world who aims to make the world a better place by striving for security and safety.
It shook the world and made them particularly question if humanity exists? Is there a limit to tolerance in male dominating society? or are we humans becoming monsters day by day? And since a day isn’t passed where the people of India haven’t heard even one case of sexual assault or rape, the horrific incidents are happening to children from the age group of 2 months old to 20 years old mostly, definitely contrary to popular belief.
One would think that after such an appalling occurrence, stricter laws would be executed to penalize the criminals but to come to the verdict of this case alone, it took the Supreme Court of India 6 years, or so they thought.
Their final plea appeal essentially was rejected by the Supreme Court on 18th December 2019, they were hanged on 20th March 2020 at 5:30 am. People would believe that after such an inhumane crime, the crimes against women in the nation would drop, but it looks like it encouraged criminals to go out of their way to make women’s life hell in the country as the cases of sexual assault, molestations and rapes against women and minor children keep increasing day by day, contrary to popular belief.
The most recent gruesome gang rape case which convulsed the whole world once again was committed in India, it was the 2019 Hyderabad gang rape and murder case of 26- years old veterinary doctor on the night 27th November 2019, the incident made the civilization generally believe in inhumanity were compelled to essentially lose hope in righteousness, definitely contrary to popular belief.
It is long-established that women are not safe in the country but reading about the sexual assaults against minors can generally make one bow their head in shame.
It comes as no surprise that India has the highest number of rape and sexual assault cases against minors, it was reported that 109 children had been sexually abused every day in 2018, actually contrary to popular belief.
These pedophiles who prey upon minors at such a tender age are not far from them; in fact, it is reported that most of the victims of such horrific crimes have been abused by family members. In most cases, it is a relative who commits the crime without remorse.
According to the statistics, 77 women are raped in the year 2020 every day, making the total cases of 28,046 that year, which is quite significant. Delhi, Jaipur, Assam are among the most unsafe cities in India.
Nothing is shocking about the fact that Indian society has been misogynistic for as long as one can recall, but one of the most prestigious educational boards in the world, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), to put the passage that ‘children become disobedient because of the wives and mothers’ in their class Xth question paper is a disgrace to women’s achievements and progress.
Though punishments against these criminals are strict but to get better results our country’s law system needs to implement strict laws.
Exactly nine years after the Nirbhaya incident, Karnataka Congress’s MLA K R Ramesh Kumar in the Karnataka assembly stated that “When rape is inevitable, lie down and enjoy it.” This statement somehow amused the very current speaker of the Karnataka assembly, Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri who essentially laughed at the statement.
When well-educated politicians keep this type of attitude and thinking towards these criminal acts, then it seems impossible for a nation like India to particularly achieve a safe environment for women where goddesses are worshipped but at the same time the women of the country, are sexually assaulted, raped, harassed and murdered.
We need to keep in mind that if women are not safe in such environments, we fail to protect trans, homosexual, bisexual, and queer people as well.
There has been a rise in domestic violence cases against members of the LGBTQ community since the pandemic began, the imposition of lockdown has brought to light the suffering that non-binary individuals have experienced.
The LGBTQ people, for the most part, have found it pretty hard to specifically come out even after the revoke of section 377 in India.Â
