As I went through the comment sections of many leading websites of news channels and social networking websites, I saw many comments where people have asked what else do the protesters want despite the fact that the government has assured speedy justice in the recent gang rape case in the capital, fast track courts specially for rape cases and more security for women on the streets? I wasn't present in any of the protest venues. However witnessing all the events from a distance that unfolded in the capital, I interpreted a simple message.
First let us understand that in India a girl is raped every 22 min. From the time this story got huge coverage in the press, at least 10 other cases of rape/gang rape were registered collectively in New Delhi and other parts of the country. The reason for these alarming figures is because in rape cases, the law of the land is very lenient with only 20% conviction rate in all the rape cases that are registered in India till date. In most of these cases, the accused has often been acquitted due to either the victim's death from committing suicide caused as a result of the trauma that she goes through or due to lack of evidence. The second reason for the rise in crimes against women in India is because of the lack of policing on the streets of our villages, towns and cities. Our elected netas use Z+, Z-, high class, low class, tight, loose and all other types of security for themselves through our, the taxpayer's money while we the people are left to fend for ourselves. Is this fair at all by any chance? Our MPs won't amend the law to ensure a quick and strict punishment for rapists because most of the MLAs throughout our country and many MPs themselves are accused of rape cases. In all, there are 260 people who are accused of rape and have been given an election ticket by political parties in India and 20 people in the last five years (Saudi Gazette, 2012; The Telegraph 2012). These protests are not only about rape but against the entire corrupt establishment. We don't want to be cheated but we want honest answers from our "representatives". When we don't get our answers we protest and all we get in return are water cannons, tear gas shells and lathis. To be honest, we don't live in a democracy anymore but in a democrazy country. Everything has a tipping point and our nation has just crossed it with the gang rape incident. All of the mounted anger against everything came out in a gush of protests at once and since New Delhi being the rape capital just added more fuel to the fire. The only women who are the safest in New Delhi are Sonia Gandhi, Sheila Dikshit, Sushma Swaraj, Smriti Irani, Meira Kumar, etc.
We have five clear demands: 1) Someone to take full responsibility for this heinous crime. 2) Speedy trial in the New Delhi gang-rape case. 3) Amend the law by bringing in stricter punishment for rapists. 4) Fast track courts set up throughout the country specially for rape; 5) Fix the accountability for violent attacks on peaceful protesters over last two days; and we want all of this announced by the PM himself.
References:-
1) Saudi Gazette, 2012. India politicians accused of rape have run in elections, says study. Saudi Gazette, [online] (Last updated: Saturday, 22nd December 2012). Available at: <http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20121222146810> [Accessed on 24 December 2012]
2) The Telegraph, 2012. Indian gang rape case: '20 accused politicians allowed to run for office'. The Telegraph, [online] (Last updated: Friday, 21st December 2012). Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9760171/Indian-gang-rape-case-20-accused-politicians-allowed-to-run-for-office.html> [Accessed on 24 December 2012]
