Editorial: No country for women

A disturbing reality is that rape and murder cases invariably turn out to be mere cold statistics

It is a matter of collective shame that horrific crimes against women have been occurring across the country with remorseless regularity. The brutal gangrape and murder of a junior doctor at a state-run teaching hospital in Kolkata has triggered national outrage. The victim, a 31-year-old postgraduate doctor, is now referred to as Abhaya by her shell-shocked, agitating colleagues, as the case has a chilling similarity to the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case of Delhi. While the focus should be on nabbing the culprits and handing out exemplary punishment, the case has, unfortunately, triggered a political slugfest. The conduct of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who holds both home and medical and health portfolios, bordered on nauseating theatrics and has failed to inspire any confidence among the people. The most disturbing development, in the aftermath of the heart-wrenching tragedy, was the attack on the hospital and the reported destruction of the crime scene by hooligans. This raises questions over the pathetic inefficiency and callousness of the police deployed at the hospital premises. The way the local police handled the case in the initial stages of the investigation raised many troubling questions, including allegations of a botched cover-up attempt to shield the perpetrators. A rebuke by the Calcutta High Court has shamed the police. To compound the alleged perfidy by the State government, the principal of the medical college was allowed to ‘resign’ but was immediately appointed at another local hospital, thereby exonerating him of the lapses resulting in the Abhaya tragedy.

The court-ordered CBI probe will, hopefully, get to the bottom of the case and help arrest all the culprits. The Abhaya case is just the tip of a murky iceberg. India’s rape statistics indicate that 90 such dastardly incidents are reported daily while a very large number of molestation cases go unreported by the families of the victims. Though the Nirbhaya case had triggered widespread protests, prompting Parliament to pass a new anti-rape Act with stringent provisions, there seems to be no let up in the crimes against women. It has been a case of too many laws but too little justice. Inordinate delay in punishing the culprits renders the entire system ineffective and the purpose of deterrence is not served. Swift, effective and deterrent punishment holds the key to checking violence against women. Currently, the convicts go for appeals in various upper courts and high courts, resulting in long delays in awarding punishment. This practice must end. Immediate uproar after every ghastly incident is followed by political platitudes. The ‘Beti Bachao’ pledge, made with much fanfare in January 2015, remains a mere tokenism. A disturbing reality is that rape and murder cases invariably turn out to be mere cold statistics. A flawed and excruciatingly slow criminal justice system, coupled with deeply entrenched patriarchal practices, has been a hindrance to gender justice.

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