The constitution of India enjoins upon every citizen the duty to “renounce any practice derogatory of the dignity of women”. The need to incorporate the injunction into Indian constitution arose due to the prevailing atmosphere in which the women were denied their place in family and in society and subjected to humiliation, which reduced them to a position inferior to men.
The incidence of crime is rising at a very fast rate in our country and crime against women is no exception. Our constitution provides equality of sexes. Despite the constitutional provisions we continue to have inequality and women are treated as inferior and subservient beings. In all spheres of life, women are denied the basic right to live with dignity. Inspite of the legal safeguards provided for women, atrocities against women continue unabated in our country. Violence against women manifests itself as rape, molestation, stripping, eve-teasing, kidnapping and abduction, aminocentisis (killing of female foetus in the womb) and the like. Domestic violence includes wife beating, dowry harassment, dowry deaths, and cruelty to women driving them to commit suicide, female infanticide and sati and so on.
Women are oppressed in two ways: -- (a) Oppression within the family,
(b) Oppression outside the family.
The sexual division of labour and the master-slave relationship between man and woman generally form the structure of the family life. The factors like age-old household drudgery, bringing up children, cooking, washing and cleaning etc. increase the burden of womenfolk. Addiction of men to alcohol and wife-beating further multiply hardship of the women. Hence the sphere of her oppression becomes total on her mental capabilities, capacity to work, and finally on her own self. In some educated families, as I have noticed, husbands force their wives to resign from their services in which they were engaged before their marriage on flimsy grounds. A job provides a woman not only economic liberty but also a strong feeling of dignity. Forcing a woman to give up her job may satisfy the ego of a husband but it tantamount to severe mental torture of the wife.
As per the report of National Crime Records Bureau, namely Crime in India since 1991, a total number of 10,410 cases of rape were reported in the country. Out of this 2596 cases were reported in a single state that is Madhya Pradesh followed by 1417 cases in Uttar Pradesh. These two states and Andhra Pradesh,Bihar,Maharastra and Rajasthan jointly account for nearly 70% of the rape cases reported in the country during 1991.Incidence of child rape has multiplied manifold, i.e., from 394 in 1990 to 1099 in 1991.(S.K.Khanna: Women and the Human Rights).Every morning news papers publish new and horrifying cases of rape including gang rape of women including minors throughout the country. The saddest part of the story is delay in justice. There are also large numbers of cold blooded murders of their wives by their husbands who are regarded as ‘param gurus’ by the Hindu ladies. Often relatives of the husband also carryout the pious duty of punishing the wife. Unfortunately many a cases of such atrocities remain unreported and never come for trial in the court of law due to social stigma, poverty of parents of the bride, illiteracy, lack of courage and scope etc.
It is also true that police interference does not always help except in a few cases. Agitations during the Roop Kanwar’s episode in Rajasthan brought to light that there have been 40 reported cases of ‘sati’ since independence. Is it not a matter of shame? The acquittal of all the 32 accused by the session court proves the efficiency of the police investigation. More shameful is the act of some fundamentalists who garlanded these people after their acquittal. In the same manner the judgement of the Honourable Supreme Court was nullified in Shah Banu’s case to please the fundamentalists for cheap political gain.
Violence against women takes place for several other reasons like poverty, alcoholism, lack of education in the family etc. According to the estimates of the Task Force on Housing and Urban Development in 1981 between 30 to 45per cent of the population of the Metros were living in slums. Poverty affects the daily life of the women in the slum, the very environment directly leads to the erosion of personal values of the women in slum areas. It may be regarded as social atrocities against the women.
Most of the Indian societies are male- dominated and it is the husband who decides even the number of children in the family. We strongly believe that it is inhuman to let helpless women get inflicted with frequent maternities which ruin them physically and kill them psychologically. This is also atrocity.
Regarding health care also data show that women, particularly in rural areas receive nominal or no health care services. The reasons may be many but the result is one and that is physically weak and mentally shattered women population who are supposed to nourish the future MEN FOLK of the country for a bright and prosperous India. Generally a woman is brought to the hospital for medical checkup only when things go out of control. In most of the families belonging to lower socio-economic strata, the women receive home remedies instead of proper institutional care.
The answer to the problem of the solution of sufferings of women lies in proper social education which will expand the knowledge base of the society. In our country there is a visible gap between the ‘Law’ as it stands and the ‘Law’ as it operates. This gap should be permanently wiped out. There is a well known dictum ‘educating a woman means educating a family’. Thus spread of education among the women of India, both rural and urban is a must. Only the educated section of women can bridge the gap and save the society as a whole. For this central as well as the state governments should join hands and ensure free and compulsory education for women from primary to atleast undergraduate level.
The central and state governments should take all other necessary and practical steps for fruitful development of women, particularly those who are residing in rural and interior areas. Only setting up of Mahila Commissions cannot be considered as adequate.
Economic independence is essential for the personality development of a woman which also gives her confidence, liberty, identity, security, a status and moreover a feeling of sharing the economic needs of he household. The NGOs can play an effectual role and exert effective influence for the harmonious development of the position of women in our taboo-infested society.
I would like to conclude this discussion by adding a few words regarding the responsibilities of women. Any discussion is bound to be one-sided and indeterminate if the responsibility and provocative role of a section of women is overlooked. Under the influence of maddening addiction of quick money and so called name and fame a section of young girls go almost bare in the public. Earlier we used to enjoy cinema with our entire family but those days are gone. TV has entered almost every house. This small box is giving worst possible exposure of female bodies through its serials and advertisements. Even the advertisement of a Shaving Razor ends up with the exposure of female flesh. What do we notice in our neighbourhood? Sometimes our mode of activities invites atrocities. For instance, there are some modern ‘mummies’ who allow their growing daughters to wear tight jeans and tops. With their active consent young girls are presented now a day as commodity in the TV serials and advertisements. Such license in the name of modernization leads to provocation and this may endanger the security of a lone girl in the society. The young and elderly women in the society should come forward and raise voice not only in papers or in seminars but also within the family and on the streets. In my opinion, even a small beginning in this regard will go a long way in reducing atrocities on women. I do believe that women can be a real force behind success if the retarding factors are properly addressed.
(The author does not claim any originality as this article is a collection of views of many thinkers all over the world which helped her in framing her own views. The author expresses her gratitude to all of them and also proposes for a joint movement in this regard.)
