Editorial: No country for women

In a horrifying incident that was reported on New Year’s Day in Delhi, a 22-year-old woman riding a scooter was knocked down by a car driven by a group of inebriated men, who proceeded to drag her body that was entangled in the undercarriage of the vehicle for over an hour. The incident has sent shock-waves across India, not just on account of the brutality of the act, but also because of the police’s perpetual inability to protect vulnerable members of society.

This national capital has witnessed some of the ghastliest crimes perpetrated against women in India. The 2012 Nirbhaya case, involving the rape and murder of a medico had shook up the conscience of the populace. More recently, a social media influencer had murdered his partner, chopped her body up and disposed of it in the outskirts of the city.

It was barely five years ago in 2018 that a survey conducted by a major news agency ranked India as the world’s most dangerous country for women, ahead of Afghanistan, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Experts were surveyed on indices including healthcare, discrimination, cultural traditions, sexual and non-sexual violence, and human trafficking.

The National Commission for Women shot back at the study saying that statistics pertaining to rape, violence against women and harassment had risen in India owing to a surge in reportage of such cases buoyed by public outrage. Criticisms were also levelled for showcasing nations where women could not even speak out, as better performers than India.

But there certainly are pain points that contributed to a change in perception regarding India’s approach towards women’s safety. As per the official crime statistics for the year 2016, in India, a woman was raped every 13 minutes, while six women were gang-raped every day. One bride was sacrificed at the altar of dowry every 69 minutes, while 19 women were attacked with acid every month.

Law enforcement officials have claimed investments being made to improve the infrastructure of women’s safety in the country were being put to optimum use. This seems like a moot point as recently, several vehicles procured by the Mumbai Police under the Nirbhaya Fund, meant to be used to fight crimes against women, were diverted and being used to provide Y-plus security to legislators allied with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has reported in December 2022 that since its inception, 35 projects worth Rs 9,176 crore were appraised under the Nirbhaya Fund. However, as of March 2022, Rs 6,260 crore was allocated for the fund, while Rs 4,340 crore was released to various departments and States, and just about Rs 3,069 crore was utilised. In Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, a sum of around Rs 120 crore each was released during 2019-22 as part of initiatives under the Nirbhaya Fund.

On the surface, everything is going as per plan. But there is much room for improvement in women’s safety. Allocations towards police forces need to be increased so that there can be greater deployment of manpower for patrolling. Highways also need to be equipped with better infrastructure including adequate lighting and CCTV points at arterial junctions that are connected to the police control room. Enforcement needs to be a no-nonsense business and the judicial machinery must also act to deliver speedy justice and not stall the process for any reason.