INDIA AND THE WOMEN’S DAY

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2013: INDIA BATTLES RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT; NEW CRIMINAL LAW MAY BE BEST GIFT

International Business Times, March 8, 2013

"There is one universal truth, applicable to all countries, cultures and communities: violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had once said.The world observes March 8 as International Women's Day, and the United Nations has chosen the theme, "A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women", for this year.

The theme is seen appropriate in the wake of the brutal Delhi gang-rape that triggered mass protests across India.

The 16 December, 2012 incident, in which a 23-year-old physiotherapy student was brutally gang-raped and murdered, shocked not only India but also made headlines around the world. The incensed public took to the streets demanding stringent punishment for rapists, in an effort to put an end to such crimes.

Several rape cases have been reported after the horrifying Delhi gang-rape incident. A three-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped while she sleeping and was gang-raped in Malappuram district of Kerala a few days ago. Another minor aged seven was raped in a Delhi school on 27 February.

In another shocking incident, three minor girls, sisters, aged six, nine and 11 went missing on 14 February, and their bodies found in a well in Bhandara district of Maharashtra. Post-mortem reports confirmed that they were raped. These are some of the several instances of crimes that have been reported in the past couple of months.

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