#Delhi rape highlights chronic women’s safety issues in India

By Anjali Mathai | Posted: 17 December 2012 2126 hrs

File photo of indian protesters shouting slogans during a protest against growing cases of sexual abuse in New Delhi on May 5,2012. (AFP/Sajjad Hussain)

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File photo of indian protesters shouting slogans during a protest against growing cases of sexual abuse in New Delhi on May 5,2012. (AFP/Sajjad Hussain)

NEW DELHI: A weekend trip to the movies for a medical student in her twenties and her male friend ended in horrifying brutality on Sunday night.

She was harassed and then gang raped on a moving bus. Her friend tried to intervene but was beaten up with an iron rod. The two were later thrown from the vehicle, semi naked.

The woman is now in critical condition in a New Delhi hospital suffering from head injuries, cuts, as well as sexual assault wounds.

“Five to seven people started harassing her. The boy protested and made every effort to come to her aid, but some people caught hold of him. Then three to four people took her and gang raped her in the cabin of the bus,” said D.K. Mishra, a relative of girl’s male friend.

Whilst tragic and very disturbing, incidents such as this are becoming far too common in the Indian capital.

Reactions from politicians are also becoming increasingly similar.

Opposition politicians blamed the party in power for not doing enough to protect women, while the chief minister of Delhi said her government would do whatever it took to make sure such incidents do not happen again.

“The stringent actions required will be taken, not just in this incident but precautionary measures will also be taken to prevent such incidents from happening in the future,” said Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit.

However that often-heard promise begins to sound hollow when the records of rape cases are analysed.

According to National Crime Records Bureau, 568 cases of rape were registered in New Delhi in 2011.

“If women are not safe here, then where ever in the country you can imagine a woman be safe? No parent can sleep in peace if this is the kind of situation which is developing in our capital,” said Ranjana Kumari, Director of the Centre for Social Research.

India‘s other major cities are not far behind. Entertainment and financial hub Mumbai is second on the list with 218 cases.

One also has to bear in mind that these numbers are just cases which are registered. Many more cases in the cities and throughout the country are never registered.

There are laws to protect the rights of women but rape case statistics point to a very disappointing lack of enforcement borne out of deep-rooted social attitudes.

– CNA/jc