WOMEN’S SAFETY: HOW LONG WILL TRAGEDIES LIKE NIRBHAYA CONITUNE?: LALIT GARG

WOMEN’S SAFETY: HOW LONG WILL TRAGEDIES LIKE NIRBHAYA CONITUNE?: LALIT GARG

18-MAY-ENG 20

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA-----------------------The incident of rape committed by a bus conductor and driver against a woman inside a private bus in Nangloi, Delhi, has once again shaken the conscience of the entire nation. This event is not merely a criminal act, but a mirror reflecting the horrific social and administrative failure that has confronted us for years. This incident has once again thrust the critical issue of women's safety to the forefront of the national discourse. Fourteen years ago, in the wake of the Nirbhaya case, a massive wave of public outrage swept across the country's streets. People believed that the system would change, laws would become stricter, women's safety would be ensured, and society would transform its mindset. Yet today, as similar incidents recur time and again, the question arises with even greater poignancy: have we truly changed at all?

The most pressing question remains: why do such incidents occur repeatedly? The answer lies not solely in the loopholes of the law, but is deeply embedded in a distorted societal mindset—one in which women are still not accorded equal respect. Amidst the glittering claims of modernity, the darkness of a patriarchal mindset persists, undiminished. The mentality that views women not as individuals, but merely as objects of consumption, remains deeply entrenched in the minds of many even today. This is precisely why women continue to feel unsafe in public spaces, workplaces, educational institutions, and even within the confines of their own homes.

The irony is that, even in this era of scientific advancement, technological innovation, and economic growth, society has failed to cultivate the fundamental values ​​regarding the dignity and safety of women. Children are being imparted education, yet they are not being instilled with empathy and sensitivity. The mindset that seeks to control daughters while granting unbridled freedom to sons continues to prevail within households. On one hand, girls are constantly admonished to "be careful," while on the other, there is a conspicuous lack of serious effort to teach boys the boundaries of appropriate behavior and conduct. It is this very imbalance that ultimately creates the fertile ground for such crimes to flourish. This situation demands deep introspection and systemic reform to ensure that the safety and security of women become an undeniable reality. The question also arises: why is the administration repeatedly failing to prevent such incidents? Following the Nirbhaya case, grand claims were made regarding women's safety. Extensive announcements were made regarding CCTV cameras, women's helplines, fast-track courts, police patrols, and safety measures in public transport. However, the reality is that a significant portion of these initiatives remained confined merely to paper and speeches. Private buses continue to operate today without adequate supervision. In many places, even the proper background verification of drivers and conductors is not conducted. Adherence to safety protocols often remains nothing more than a mere formality. For further information on this subject, you may refer to the Wikipedia entry on crimes against women in India.

Despite global awareness campaigns and movements advocating for the existence and dignity of girls, atrocities against them continue to rise. The situation is no different in our own country; from the overall status of girls—marked by a widening gender ratio favoring boys, rising divorce rates, and issues such as illiteracy, malnutrition, and exploitation in rural areas—to concerns regarding their physical safety, including incidents of rape, molestation, and other crimes committed against them, there is an urgent need to foster a meaningful environment through effective dialogue and decisive action. For a nagging anguish persists in the mind: how long will women and girls continue to be treated merely as objects of gratification? How long will their lives remain shrouded in peril? How long will they continue to be consumed by the raging fires of rape, molestation, female feticide, and dowry-related violence? How long will their very existence and dignity continue to be torn apart?

The truth is that our system becomes active *after* a crime has been committed, rather than taking measures to prevent it. Every time an incident occurs, it is followed by arrests, investigations, and rhetoric; yet, there appears to be no serious initiative to strike at the very roots of the crime. Political parties engage in a blame game for a few days, debates rage in the media, and then, gradually, everything is allowed to revert to a state of 'normalcy.' However, for the families whose daughters fall victim to such inhumanity, fear, anguish, and insecurity remain as permanent scars in their lives. It is also pertinent to ponder: why, exactly, do women and girls repeatedly fall victim to such atrocities? The root cause lies not merely in the cruelty of the perpetrators, but also in societal apathy. There appears to be a distinct lack of collective responsibility regarding the safety of women in public spaces. People often stand by merely as spectators. All too frequently, it is the victim herself who is put in the dock—her clothing, the time of day, her lifestyle, and her behavior are all called into question. This mindset emboldens the perpetrators, for they know that society will not stand fully in solidarity with the victim. How long must women continue to live in fear within their own cities, buses, streets, and workplaces? How long must parents remain consumed by anxiety until their daughters return home? This is not merely a question for women; it is a question concerning the very soul of society as a whole. A society in which half of the population does not feel safe cannot, in truth, be deemed civilized.

Today, the need is not solely for stricter laws, but for rigorous societal introspection. While the law can punish the offender, it is society alone that can transform mindsets. Education regarding gender sensitivity must be made mandatory in schools and within families. Daughters must be taught not to live in fear, but to live with dignity and self-respect. A serious discourse is also required regarding the objectification of women in films, social media, and advertisements, as culture and entertainment play a significant role in shaping societal attitudes. Furthermore, the administration must not limit itself merely to taking action *after* an incident has occurred... One must not remain complacent. Real-time GPS tracking, CCTV surveillance, panic buttons, and regular monitoring must be implemented with absolute rigor across public transportation systems. Thorough background verification of private transport operators and their staff must be made mandatory. The police machinery must be rendered more sensitive, accountable, and proactive. Most importantly, society must recognize that women's safety is not merely a "women's issue," but fundamentally a question of humanity and civilization. Until women are accorded equal respect, freedom, and safety, all claims of societal progress will remain hollow.

The incident in Nangloi is not merely a news story; it serves as a stark warning to the entire society. If we fail to wake up even now, tragedies akin to the Nirbhaya case will continue to recur, and with each recurrence, our insensitivity, our administrative failures, and our warped mindset will inevitably place us in the dock. The central question remains: how long must this continue? Despite numerous awareness campaigns and government initiatives, the status of girls in India has yet to undergo any substantial improvement. It is no secret—hidden from no one—just how perverse a mindset religious leaders, politicians, and social reformers have frequently displayed toward women and girls. The hypocrisy inherent in their character has become a matter of public record. From dictating what one should wear, eat, or whom one should love or marry, to adopting an adversarial stance toward co-education—under the sway of such patriarchal thinking, girls are being systematically deprived of their rights and subjected to a myriad of restrictions and forms of surveillance. "Yatra Pujyante Naryastu Tatra Ramante Devatah"—where women are revered, there the deities reside. Yet, today we witness that women are being subjected to humiliation at every turn. The deeply alarming reality is that men, viewing women merely as "objects of gratification," are proceeding to "use" them in ways that suit "their own ends." Today, in myriad forms and guises, incidents that seek to obliterate the very essence of a woman's existence are unfolding, writing dark chapters in our history. While there may have been a statistical decline in the frequency of gang-rape incidents across the country, their sporadic and recurring emergence remains a deeply tragic and distressing reality.