Silence

65,743- That’s the exact number of crimes registered against women in Uttar Pradesh in 2022. It only accounts for 2.94% of the total of the top five states leading in the crime which, for no reason, has become inevitable for the government to put a full stop on. India, the ‘Vishwa Guru’ country, claims to do all it can for Women Empowerment. The top five states somehow shock everyone. Whenever the topic of such cases arises, it is thought that maybe the backward states or the remote areas would be the top players. But, the financial capital of India, Mumbai’s home, Maharashtra, makes up to 0.21% of the top five with a number of 45,331. This number might appear small, too small to be actually paid attention to.

Crimes against women don’t only mean rape. It is a wide collection of heinous tortures endured by the females which may hinder their self-worth and self-esteem. The list includes the following misdeeds-
1. Sexual Harassment: It includes unwelcome acts such as physical contact and sexual advances, a demand or request for sexual favors, making sexually colored remarks, showing pornography, and any other unwelcome physical, verbal, or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature. It also lists down five circumstances that would constitute sexual harassment if they are connected to the above-mentioned acts- (i) Implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in employment (ii) Implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in employment (iii) Implied or explicit threat about present or future employment status (iv) Interference with work or creating an intimidating or offensive or hostile work environment and (v) Humiliating treatment likely to affect health or safety. To curb it, the Protection of Sexual Harassment Act (POSH) came into force on 9th December,2013. The Act states that any offender may be subjected to imprisonment or fine or both.
2. Domestic Violence: It means domestic violence as any act, omission, or conduct those harms or injures a woman physically, mentally, or sexually within a domestic relationship. To curb it, The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 came into force on 26th October, 2006. The offender(s) may be subjected to a one-year imprisonment, which may extend to three years, or a fine or both.
3. Rape: It may be defined under Section 375 of Indian Penal Code as, “sexual intercourse with a woman against her will, without her consent, by coercion, misrepresentation or fraud or at a time when she has been intoxicated or duped or is of unsound mental health and in any case if she is under 18 years of age.” To curb it, the following laws were passed: –
•Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012- It raised the age of consent from 16 to 18 years.
•Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013- It increased the minimum sentence of imprisonment from 7 to 10 years.
4. Acid Attack
5. Dowry Death
6. Assault to outrage modesty
7. Stalking
8. Kidnapping
9. Voyeurism
10. Cruelty
11. Disrobing a woman
12. Honor killing

Gender Development Index (GDI), which measures gender inequalities on the grounds of health, education and command over economic resources, ranks India on 140th out of 150 countries. Where the GDI world average stands at 0.958, that of India stands at 0.849. As opposed to the promises made to the country by Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, crimes against women have increased 26.3% over the last 6 years which statistically increased to 4,05,861 in 2021 from 3,38,954 in 2016.

The graphical data provided by BBC News proves the claims in the rallies were only meant to win the Chair, and in reality no stern action has been taken in this regard-

Here is the full Times of India article dated 16th December, 2023 on comparison between how safe were women in Congress government as compared to BJP government-
In 2012, after the horrific Delhi gang rape and murder, there was widespread outrage and concerns raised about women’s safety. The then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, came on television, acknowledged that people’s anger was justified, and spelt out the steps his government would take to address these concerns.
The perpetrators were soon arrested and the case was fast-tracked. The government ensured that the victim was given the best available medical care, and she, along with her family, was also flown out to Singapore for further treatment. Tragically, her life could not be saved. But the Congress government took concrete steps to address women’s safety, such as passing the landmark Nirbhaya Act, as well as making other provisions in the IPC to protect victims of sexual assault.
In 2014, the BJP was voted to power. In the last decade, the response of the government to issues of women’s safety could not have been more insensitive and callous. Take the recent example of the wrestlers’ protest. India’s leading women wrestlers took to the streets to protest against sexual misconduct by Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. And these allegations were not made by one woman. There were a total of seven complainants initially, including by a minor. The only acceptable response by any government would have been to sack Singh and arrest him immediately, pending trial. The Centre went ahead and did the opposite, making every effort to trivialise the abuse and discredit the wrestlers. No attempt has been made to arrest Singh either. After the wrestlers protested for months, and only under strict directions of the Supreme Court, did Delhi Police proceed with the case. Even after the police told the court that Singh “outraged the modesty” of the women wrestlers at every opportunity, PM Modi remained silent and took no action against him.
Nowhere was the central government’s disdain for women more starkly visible than during its reprehensible pardoning and premature release of 11 men who were convicted for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano. Not only were they convicted of gang rape, but they also brutally murdered seven members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter. These are the men the current dispensation deemed fit to be released back into society, ahead of the Gujarat elections last year.
The Supreme Court even warned the Gujarat government that it is on thin ice. It remarked “How far this rule — giving a chance to hardened criminals to reform — by releasing them after 14 years is being applied to other prisoners? Why is the policy being applied selectively? Opportunity to reform and reintegrate should be given to all. How far is this being implemented? Why are our prisons overflowing? Give us data.” This inexplicable action of both the Gujarat and central government is not only a harrowing blow to Bilkis Bano, but it is also a slap in the face of every woman of this country, who was made to feel that her safety is not even up for consideration.
Last month, convicted rapist Gurmeet Ram Rahim was given a 21-day parole by the Haryana government. What is even more shameful is that he has been granted parole a total of eight times since 2020 and spent 184 days out of jail. Why is the Haryana government rolling out the red carpet for Ram Rahim? He is a powerful and influential cult leader who can prove to be a threat to the victims.
Crimes against women rose by 15.3 per cent in 2021 from the previous year, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), with 4,28,278 cases registered in 2021 following 3,71,503 cases in 2020. A total of 3,75,058 women (above the age of 18) went missing in India in 2021. These statistics should have sent alarm bells ringing at the Centre, but PM Modi refuses to so much as address crimes against women. Earlier this year, when shocking videos came out of Manipur which revealed militants parading women naked on the streets, the BJP government’s response was to clamp down on internet services.
Women’s safety can only be addressed when there is political will at the top. Unfortunately, the BJP seems to be unable to see anything beyond the next scheduled election and is only in campaign mode. A responsible party, like the Congress, would make women’s safety a poll issue, but for the BJP, this is nowhere a priority.
It is time we band together as a society and ask tough questions of the government. To distract, divide and rule has been the modus operandi of the BJP. It is up to us to not take the bait. It is up to us to ask our government what steps they are taking to ensure women’s safety. Just like employment, inflation, and the economy, this needs to become a poll issue. It’s time to ask the tough questions and not settle for “jumlas” in return. The safety of India’s daughters hangs in the balance!

In this male dominated Indian society, it’s not a hidden fact that for a woman to file a FIR against any of the above mentioned crimes is not an easy path. What’s more hurting is that the very first hurdle she faces is her own family. The fear of being laughed at by the society stops her from speaking up. The victim keeps on suffocating with the grief and is pounced upon again and again by the same criminal or some other, but it hardly matters. The greatest irony is that, her safe place, her home, is also not often the haven for her. Putting the excuse of her in-modesty on her lap, a cousin, an uncle, a far relative, or an in-law, yields to their needs in the ugliest way they can.
Scaringly, the crimes are becoming more and more atrocious day-after-day. More and more girls, children, women, ladies are being dragged into sex rackets, sent for human trafficking, beaten for dowry, beaten for opening up what they feel, killed if they refuse to give in. Out of all these, rape kills the most. Dressing-undressing is an everyday chore for all, but when the same happens when a total stranger out of nowhere asks for it, it kills. It kills when the relative, the neighbour, the one member of the family you expected to be your saviour in any and all of your hardships, touches you indifferently. Even the sweet peck on cheeks which may be uplifting in other times, kills to the core when given to by the wrong person at the wrong place.

The government cannot help; the society cannot help if a fire doesn’t burn her to take a stand. Turning your grief to a gamble to punish your esteem murderer isn’t an easy task. Knowing that at the end only humiliation will be the product of all the labours and all the hard earned money spent into firing cases, and running to and fro between the possible sources of justice and then again to reality, a spark is necessary to be lit.
Concluding my thoughts here, let’s snap back out of our dreamy magical world. The phrase, ‘easier said than done’ somehow fairly describes the situation. It’s easy to say that go, take a stand, strive for justice. Doing is not difficult, but it’s placing a permanent stain on yourself and your close ones. Where the accused roams freely with no fear of anything with a shiny goggle covering their eyes, the victim stays hidden with a guilt of something she had no control on and with a doubt of next possible attack blocking her heart. With every breath she takes, her phobia roots deeper and deeper into her soul. A slight reference to that incident, and she breaks up. Sadly, the only solution to all these is Silence. Silence in the first place by the sufferer, silence by the family, silence by the police, silence by the society, silence by the government.

Develop the society,
Ashes burning here are colder than ice,
Make yourself progressive,
Truths said here are liar than lies.