The character and culture of a people can be evaluated by knowing how much respect they give to the womenfolk especially of younger age or school and college going girls. Unfortunately, despite tall claims of enjoying high standards of morality and ethical code going back to millennia we are nowhere close to such a spurious claim and we should be ashamed of what actually is our role in showing respect to the womenfolk. Every now and then we read in newspapers about foreign tourist females abused, disrespected, molested, raped, molested and outraged. Is it because they are foreigners and have no friends and shelter or cannot lodge complaint being unknown in this country. In reality we should have been showing them greater respect than what they are shown in their own countries so that once back to their native lands they would shower praise on us and emulate our standards of respecting the womanhood.
The conditions in our State are no better than anywhere in other states of the country. Crime against women is a national malaise and no state can claim to be without this disease. The question has come up in the Legislative Assembly and the Chief Minister who is also holding the charge of the Home Department has given a written reply in response to a question by a legislator. The reply or the summation of the crime against women is very disappointing and a sad commentary on the character of the people involved and the performance of the police. No doubt whenever a case of crime like molestation, harassment, dowry harassment, rape, outrage and physical violence against married women is brought to the policed, they do their job of filing the FIR and then the follow up action. But at the end of the day the case gets stuck up at the level of either the investigation or legal dispensation. In most of the cases the culprits run scot free just because the law is so complex, so vague and so ineffective that the judge despite being satisfied that there is a case of crime against women is unable to deliver the judgment to the at purpose and bring the culprit to book.
The disappoint part of the crime against women in our State is that instead of coming down in comparison to the number of cases last year it has come up. In the year 2016, the number of cases of crime against women was 2,915 cases in 2016. But their number during 2017 has risen to 3,168. Why has the number gone up when the police took more steps to prevent the crime? Why did it happen when more women were recruited in the police cadres and they were given respective areas for supervision? Obviously, there is some shortcoming somewhere in the entire system which needs to be identified and set right. The Chief Minister as given detailed reply to the question and minced no words in saying that the scourge is on the rise.
It will be reminded that the scourge was rampant in U.P. during the previous Government but when the new Government under Yogi Adityanath of BJP took over, he ordered UP police to ensure that not a single case of harassment, molestation and rape against school, college and university going girls escaped the notice of the police. Police establishment swung into action and thousands of goons who used to swarm outside the gate of the female institutions were rounded up and cases were filed against them and many are languishing in jails. Unless there is accountability, this disease of crime against women will not be eradicated. When molestation cases are not punished, molesters get encouraged and commit more crimes. The Chief Minister has done the right thing of opening more female police stations and recruiting more females in police force and directing them for rounds outside the gates of educational institutions with co-education system and round up; the miscreants at sight. Our police should learn something of how this crime is being controlled in UP and emulate the example. Our school and college going girls should go to their educational institutions without fear and without intimidation. This Government is duty bound to provide them; protection and there are institutions which can be approached for seeking justice. Moreover, the parents should train their daughters in martial arts of fighting an adversary and not succumbing to his threats.
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