We call this nation Mother India. We worship women as Goddess. If this is on one side, on the other, there are increasing crimes against women reported in large sections of the media. This parity worries all. Recently, a survey has ranked India as the world’s most dangerous country for women, ahead of Afghanistan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, which is worrisome. The poll surveyed 548 experts on six different indices – healthcare, discrimination, cultural traditions, sexual and non-sexual violence and human trafficking.
Though a lot is being spoken on their empowerment on International Women’s Day today, one has to see what efforts have been taken to change the perception that India is unsafe for women. Crimes against women contribute to about 13 per cent of all crimes. Though all women police stations have been opened, yet there was little decline in the stats. Delhi gang-rape, murder of Swathi in broad daylight, a hearing-impaired girl subjected to sexual assault by a lift-man and his accomplices in the residential complex in Ayanavaram and a 22-year-old IT firm employee sexually assaulting and killing a seven-year-old girl in Mugalivakkam, still send shiver down our spine.
Television and cinema share equal responsibility for these crimes. Even Madras High Court has asked the Central and State governments to find out if exposure to ‘mega television serials’, among other things, was responsible for extramarital relationships, which it said lead to a spurt in crimes such as murder, assault and kidnap. Everyone should resolve to respect them and parents play a great role in fostering this thought.