Post date: Mar 16, 2013 3:24:35 PM
Enraged over the gang rape of a Swiss national in central India activists urge federal government to check crimes against women, prioritise their safety in the country.
NEW DELHI, INDIA (MARCH 16, 2013) (ANI) - Infuriated over the rape of a Swiss national in India's central state ofMadhya Pradesh, women and child rights activists on Saturday (March 16) condemned the incident.
Member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Nina Nayak told mediapersons in New Delhi that the government should bring strong laws against women crimes."This is very tragic, shocking. They are now saying that district administration as now swung into action and have said that seven people had raped the woman. So when there is no safety what will women do? We are also very concerned. The younger the child more children are being abused. Why are so many gang rapes taking place, they are very atrocious," said Nayak.
Police launched a massive manhunt in the forests of Datia in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday after the reported gang rape of a 39-year-old Swiss woman.
The woman who was attacked by a group of unidentified men in the presence of her husband while camping in the forest area was sent to Gwalior for medical examination.
A police official accompanying the couple who were on a vacation to India since three months, told mediapersons that they had launched a combing operation in the forest to nab the culprits.
Another leading women's activist Kavita Krishnan highlighted in the wake of surge in incidents of sexual assaults in the country ensuring safety of women must top the agenda of the federal government.
"This is a very serious issue and I feel that not just for foreign national but any woman in this country whether she is a resident, or a guest from another country they should feel safe and move around fearlessly. This should be a priority for the country," said Krishnan, Secretary, All India Progressive Women's Association.
In meantime the Madhya Pradesh government came under fire for rampant incidents of sexual crimes in the state.
Locals joined activists in leading protests and burning effigies of state government in provincial capital Bhopal city as they shouted slogans demanding safety of women in the province.
Provincial minister for Industry, Commerce and Horticulture Kailash Vijayvargiyacame out in defence of state government while stating that some arrests had been made in the Swiss national's rape case and that strict action would be initiated against culprits.
"The government needs to hold interactions with the society to strengthen morals until this is done, such incidents will not stop. As for this incident the government is taking strict action, has made some arrests and will take strong action against the culprits," said Vijayvargiya.
In December last year, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student was gang raped aboard a moving bus in an attack that horrified the nation.
The six men attacked the woman and a male companion on the bus as the couple returned home after watching a movie. The woman was repeatedly raped and tortured with a metal bar. They were also severely beaten before being thrown onto a road.
The woman died of internal injuries in a Singapore hospital two weeks later.
Six men, including a juvenile, were put on trial for the December 16 attack on the woman. One of the accused was recently found dead in his cell, prison authorities said, raising questions about jail monitoring and security.
The assault triggered nationwide protests, a toughening of rape laws and an intense debate about rampant crime against women in India.
Many of the crimes against women are in India's heavily populated northern plains, where, in parts, there is a deep-rooted mindset that women are inferior and must be restricted to being homemakers and child bearers.
Violence against women has a level of social acceptability in India. A government survey found 51 percent of Indian men and 54 percent of women justified wife beating.
India has robust gender laws, but they are hardly enforced, partly because a feudal mindset is as prevalent among bureaucrats, magistrates and the police as it is elsewhere. Politicians are also unwilling to crack down on customary biases against women for fear of losing conservative votes.