WOMEN – 2011 - Indian Social Institute

wife. (TOI, 22/02/2011)
Minor sets self on fire after rape by neighbour
LUCKNOW: A minor girl burnt herself after being raped by her neighbour in Aligarh on Tuesday. In
another incident a minor was stabbed for resisting the obscene advances by local goons, proving that
Uttar Pradesh was becoming increasingly unsafe for women. Afsana (17) of Kwarsi area in Aligarh was
admitted to hospital with 70% burns where she died shortly afterwards. In her dying declaration before a
magistrate on Tuesday morning, Afsana accused her neighbour Amir of rape, molestation and assault.
The other incident happened in Kanpur. The victim, who was repeatedly stabbed, said her neighbour
Deepak Yadav had been making obscene passes at her for the past few weeks. "I did not pay any
attention to him as I knew that if I tell anyone, things may turn ugly,'' the victim said. But things went way
beyond her control when Deepak and his three associates allegedly gathered outside her house and
started throwing stones at the doors. "When my brother objected to it, they attacked him. As my mother
rushed to his rescue, they turned to her instead. In the ensuing melee, two of the accused attacked me
with a knife,'' she said pointing towards multiple wounds that she had suffered on her hands and right
shoulder. The incident has only added to the belief of the victim's family and local residents that the
accused had no fear of the law and the police. (TOI, 23/02/2011)
23-year-old gangraped in moving car
A 23-year-old woman was gangraped in a moving car and dumped at Rajghat after 5 hours. She was
allegedly offered a ride by an acquaintance from South Extension earlier on Wednesday morning. Police
said they received a call around 4 am from the woman, who works at a shoe factory. “We have not
received any complaint. On the basis of the PCR call, we are examining what action we can take,” said H
G S Dhaliwal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South). Police said the victim was too scared to file a
formal complaint. According to police, the woman got into the Maruti Gypsy because she knew one of the
accused. She was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Wednesday for a medical
examination, which confirmed sexual assault, police said. She is being provided medical aid and an NGO
has been told to counsel her, they added. “She is in trauma and is not able to narrate the sequence of
events. We have sought legal opinion, before we register an FIR,” said a senior police officer. The
accused reportedly drove around Delhi without being stopped for checking even once. The Delhi Police
had started checking all vehicles plying on city roads at night, after last year’s Dhaula Kuan gangrape
case, when a 30-year-old BPO employee was abducted and sexually assaulted. (IE, 24/02/2011)
‘One crore girls vanish every year'
About one crore girls vanish every year through foeticide or other forms of killing, Governor of
Uttarakhand Margaret Alva said here on Wednesday. She was addressing a seminar on women's rights
here organised by Congress leader Janet D Souza's non-governemental organisation ‘Parivartan.' “We
call it the disappearing sex. One crore girls die every year or are not allowed [to be born],” Ms. Alva said.
On the issue of ‘honour killings,' she said: “What is happening in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Uttar
Pradesh? Khap panchayats tell married couples to live like siblings. Couples are killed. We call it
dishonour killings,” Ms. Alva said. While there were many laws protecting the rights and entitlements of
women, 80 per cent of the women were not aware of them, and mostly, women were told to put up with
domestic violence. She stressed on the need to sensitise the implementation machinery to make
legislation more effective. “Till today, there are thousands of dowry-related deaths. There are many
complaints of the police not registering cases. No one comes to help the women. If a woman is suffering
domestic violence, others prefer not to meddle with the family's affairs. If laws have to be implemented
effectively, we have to think about how to go about it. Jail officers, bureaucrats, court, lawyers and NGOs
need to be sensitised about legislation on women. Crores of rupees are being spent on this,” she said.
‘Appoint women judges' Pointing to the large number of male judges at family courts, Ms. Alva called
for the appointment of women judges. Most of the health programmes for women focussed on issues
related to child-bearing, while other health issues were neglected. “Health initiatives only look at pre-natal,
post-natal problems. Don't women's bodies suffer from other ailments? Is there a post-menopause
programme? Since a woman is done having children, she can be left to die,” Ms. Alva said. She also
came down heavily against the traditional idolisation of women. “Men ask ‘What do women want?' Are
they not worshipped as Lakshmi and Saraswathi? Isn't the President a woman? Isn't the person heading
the United Progressive Alliance a woman? But, this is not victory. Don't turn us into idols; treat us like