DNA Edit: Post-Nirbhaya - Existing legal, security provisions grossly inadequate

The Nirbhaya gang-rape incident in 2012 is considered a watershed, a turning point in India’s contemporary history because of the impact it had on the nation’s psyche. The gruesomeness of the crime in the heart of Delhi had stirred a country’s conscience, prompting a backlash from civil society.

It culminated in stricter rape laws as recommended by Justice JS Varma Committee. Back then, it was widely believed that it took a young woman’s intense suffering and death to effect a change that was long overdue. Five years later, statistics point to a different story. If anything, the situation is more alarming than ever before as women’s safety continues to be a major source of concern in the national capital.

The incidence of rape has shot up by 31 per cent since the Nirbhaya case, despite stringent anti-rape legislation and a slew of amendments that are designed to be humane and bring swift justice to the survivors. Sexual harassment continues unabated while molestation cases have seen a dip in numbers. However, the overall situation reiterates that existing provisions in the law are grossly inadequate in tackling what is deemed a growing phenomenon.

Moreover, measures like installing CCTV cameras, a security pre-requisite, are caught in a vicious political tussle. What makes Delhi so unsafe for women when the capital because of its obvious importance is supposed to have the strongest police presence on the streets?

The fact is while Delhi might project a dire scenario, the rape culture in India has its roots in a deeply patriarchal mindset that considers women to be inferior to men. A society caught in the swirls of globalisation is unable to come to grips with the dynamics of change that have had a sweeping effect in Indian cities and is now radiating towards smaller towns.

With traditional gender roles being constantly challenged, the male hegemony having roots in a millennia-old culture is rudely shaken. This state of flux has had its worst effects in Delhi and its hinterland. The constant reference to Western culture – women wearing jeans, smoking, and clubbing – as a provocation for the spurt in gender crime is a dangerous idea that has gained acceptance.

This line of thinking puts the onus on women: They need to “behave” and “dress” properly to avoid unwarranted attention. Rape is a tool of subjugation, of brute physical power that shows a woman her place in the gender hierarchy. While the Supreme Court has rightly rejected the review petition of the three death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya case, the rate of conviction of rapists is still abysmally poor.

In 2016, for example, one in four cases of rape ended in conviction. That’s the lowest in the decade. However, it’s not a lost battle as yet. The culture of silence surrounding rapes is crumbling. More cases are being reported now with traditional and social media playing a catalyst for increased accountability from the police. But when the system fails the woman, it fails the entire country. A democratic, inclusive, egalitarian society cannot choose to overlook the well-being of one half of its people.