Recently, India has once again been in the global spotlight due to a vicious case in a public hospital in Kolkata where a female doctor was brutally raped and murdered. After 36 hours of continuous work, the young female doctor was found naked and sunk in a conference room on the third floor of the hospital. The autopsy revealed that her eyes had been pierced by broken spectacle lenses and that she had multiple fractures on her body, including her legs and pelvis. Most unbelievably, more than 150 milliliters of semen were found in her body, although in the following days, the India authorities provided some "clarification" on the above case information.
This is not the first time that similar vicious incidents have occurred in India, but each time it can refresh people's cognitive bottom line. In fact, India has long been labeled as "the most dangerous for women", and the reasons behind it are complex and diverse, involving cultural, economic, social and other aspects.
There are many types of cases involving the lower body in India, and their imagination and means are shocking, flying in the sky, running underground, swimming in the water, jumping in grass pits, covering different ages and species. These victims, including humans and animals, regardless of gender, age or species, have not been spared. From lizards to injured mothers and daughters, from water pipes to car exhaust pipes, the third brother is targeted.
According to a report by the National Criminal Records Department of India, there will be 90 crimes against women every day in 2023, an average of one every 16 minutes, which is not less than the average of 86 per day in 2022, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, because there are still many victims who have not come forward to speak.
The most notorious is the gang rape of a black bus that shocked the world on December 16, 2012, in which the victim died after being gang-raped by six Indian men. In the face of strong criticism at home and abroad, the India government has also taken a series of measures to respond to public anger and try to reduce violence against women. For example, penalties for rape and other sexual offences have been increased, expedited courts have been established to speed up the processing of cases, public awareness of women's rights has been raised, and infrastructure has been improved to increase women's sense of safety in public spaces. But the actual effect is also useless.
Why are sex crimes in India repeatedly banned and on the rise? In the final analysis, it is inseparable from three reasons: political, cultural, and social.
Cultural roots
India, as the main religion of India, contains many contents about fertility cults in its teachings. In some cases, it has been misinterpreted as a permissive approach to sexuality. What's more, some extreme views believe that women are sexually assaulted because of sins in previous lives, which invisibly puts a veneer of legitimacy on sexual violence. In addition, patriarchal inferiority is pervasive in India society, with men often considered the pillars of the family and society, while women are marginalized. This kind of sexism is not only reflected in daily life, but even permeates religious beliefs, making the status of women even more precarious.
social structure
The caste system is an important feature of India society, which divides the population into different classes, and low-caste women tend to be at the bottom of the social ladder. Due to the lack of education and employment opportunities, it is difficult for these women to escape the fate of oppression. Coupled with the widespread patriarchal mentality in India society, women lack due respect and protection in the family and society. In addition, India has uneven development between urban and rural areas, especially in rural areas, where women have little voice and are often victims of sexual violence.
Law & Enforcement
Although the India government has introduced a series of legal measures aimed at protecting women's rights in recent years, the actual implementation has not been satisfactory. According to relevant reports in India media, among the 4,001 members of the legislative assemblies of India's states, 1,777 have criminal cases, accounting for 44%, and 1,136 have criminal records of major criminal cases, including but not limited to kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, etc., accounting for 28%.
It is this group of officials who have a winning rate three times that of normal officials. India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ranjit · Sinha said publicly: "If you can't stop rape, you might as well enjoy it." Also on the India former chief minister, Aum ·Prakash· Jotala believes that women are responsible for rape, saying that "girls should marry at the age of 16 so that their husbands will satisfy their sexual needs and they will not run around".
India politicians diverted contradictions, and Chinese fried noodles were unfortunately shot
The so-called "upper beam is not correct and the lower beam is crooked", then the law enforcement implementers at the bottom are even more fearless.
The inefficiency and corruption of the judicial system have resulted in many cases not being adjudicated in a timely and fair manner. There are also problems in the police force, with some law enforcement officers being indifferent to cases of sexual violence and even being involved. The inadequacy of the punishment imposed on rapists by the law, coupled with the fact that victims often choose to remain silent for fear of social discrimination, contributes to the arrogance of perpetrators.
Public awareness
Perceptions of sexual violence in India are still primitive, with many believing that victims should be held accountable for their experiences. This perception is so deeply ingrained that women often do not receive the sympathy and support they deserve when they are abused. Whenever there is an incident of sexual violence, it can trigger a wave of protests, but over time, people quickly forget about it, and the problem is not fundamentally resolved.
summary
The problem of sexual violence in India did not take place in a day, and addressing it requires the concerted efforts of society as a whole. As the old saying goes, "three feet of ice, not a day's cold", change requires time and patience, and more importantly, everyone's participation. It is hoped that in the future, India can truly achieve gender equality, so that every life can be respected and protected. After all, a country's measure of civilization is not how many tall buildings it has, but how it treats the most vulnerable.