ALTAF SHAH
Massive discussion and dissections of the Kolkata rape and murder of the doctor has been done. And yet, it remains as just another unfortunate statistic in the long chain of rapes which have become common place in our society.
Ironically, India boasts of wonderful slogans on ‘girl power’ like ‘Nari Shakti’ or ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’, yet the ground reality is in stark contrast to the reality.
Leave it to politicians and they will milk the issue dry for their own selfish motives. Which is what we are witnessing today - an entire team of central ministers opining how law and order has gone for a toss in Didi’s Bengal yet remaining tight-lipped on rapes happening in States ruled by them. Unfortunately, even the President of the country gets involved in the muck.
Case in point being the sex scandal that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was embroiled in not very long ago and yet he was protected. And who can forget those 11 rapists in Gujarat who were freed from jail for their good ‘sanskars’ and were even garlanded later?
Of course, this does not of absolve the Bengal Chief Minister of the many wrongs that were committed in a bid to downplay the RG Kar medical rape case or the Sandeshkhali rape case a couple of months ago.
As per the data compiled by NCRB, in 2022 alone, 31,516 cases of rape were reported, which is an average of 86 rape cases per day. It must be noted that these alarming figures reflect only reported cases and we all know that most cases go unreported.
The rot is deep and shameful to say the least. There’s more to do than just stage silent candle-light marches in memory of the helpless victims.
These are some measures that we can look forward to implementing for a safer environment for our
women folk:
1) We have stringent laws on sexual violence and rape, including death penalty for extreme cases of savage assault, but we have also seen political interference and strong legal backing to protect the culprits. There have to be measures to stop this and send a strong message across to all political parties and the general public that no culprit will be spared and these need to be in fast track courts.
2) It is important to note that the culprit was a porn addict in the Kolkata rape case. It is an open secret that porn is easily available today. Today, porn industry is a huge business worldwide and it is not affected by government changes or financial crises.
A recent survey shows that an alarming number of 12 to 13-year olds are addicted to pornography. Medics have already confirmed that watching porn can affect their psychological and physical wellbeing in the future. Also there are numerous families which are getting affected by this.
While the government has banned many such websites, these keep cropping up with different names and the numbers are on the rise. It is imperative that we acknowledge this issue as a huge challenge to society today.
3) The role of family is important. It is important that we spend quality time at home with our children talking to them. We must keep a close watch on the friends of our children as peer pressure is for real. Their energies should be channelised in the right direction be it academics, sports or skill/talent so that the child does not fall to errant ways.
4) There is so much talk about restricting mobile time for children. But how much do we as elders adhere to? What our children are watching or what they are doing on the mobile phone is something we should be aware of. As parents we need to be updated on the various challenges today and how to face them. Times have changed and it is necessary that we also change our approach—no more pushing such topics under the carpet but speaking, understanding and communicating should be encouraged.
Politicians will play politics, but it’s time that we as the ‘affected public’ need to address the ‘porn challenge’ and fight it unitedly if we need to see a safer society for our ladies, a safer India for our future generations in the times to come.