The nation is convulsing with anger once again- this time over the ghastly rape and murder of a trainee doctor in a Kolkata hospital. For a country desperate to be seen as a global leader,repeated high – profile cases of brutal sexual assaults highlight an uncomfortable truth. India by many measures, remains one of the world’s most unsafe places for women. Rape and domestic violence are relatively common and conviction rates are low. Crime against women in India remains a pervasive and deeply concerning issue challenging the nation’s progress towards gender equality and social justice.
The brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata highlights the current inadequacies in enforcing women safety measures. Despite legislative measures and growing awareness, the incidence of violence against women continues to be alarmingly high. As India mourned the gruesome rape and murder of a young female doctor, I feel how cruel and inhumane was the incident. Could not imagine what she must have felt in those last few moments of her life. When she was struggling to breathe, when she was struggling to see, when she was struggling to break free. Was the medical education worth it? Were all the years to become a doctor worth it so that one day you will be raped and murdered in your own hospital during the duty hours? More shocking was the management trying to cover the incident by calling it a “suicide “. As political power manipulates everything to be safe, every single day such cases keep repeating.
Hundreds of doctors took to the street demanding justice, condemning the incident, to pray for our nation’s peace, integrity and stern law against such brutalities and to show how sin has filled to the brim. Now the question is will the women of India ever truly be free? From ages all we are doing is burning candles, blackening our DP, commenting in the face book pages and forget it within a week. As days pass by, yet another incident takes place which is normally horrendous and shameful. I strongly feel it is time to burn the culprits and not the candles. It is high time for the government to pass a bill for capital punishment for rapists. When currency can be changed overnight, when special session can be called to increase the salary of politicians, when parliament can remain open all night for trust votes, wondering what is delaying to pass a stringent law against rape. The Kolkata outrage is yet another reminder of the need to ensure safety and justice for all women not just at their workplaces but also elsewhere because since ages we keep telling our daughters “Don’t go alone because you may never come back” as we were told by our parents as a child.
It is unfortunate to note that social and moral deterioration has become a regular feature in the country depleting human values and resulting in frequent violence. Incidents of women and minor girls being raped, making these acts into more or less order of the society. There are endless debates by political leaders and resource persons on TV channels when such incidents occur, but at the end of the day, nothing tangible is brought into effect. Where is the safe hub for Indian daughters in today’s land?
Kodandera Mamatha Subbaiah
