Atrocities against women increasing across nation: Anupama Soni

Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao's Rajasthan brand ambassador, Dr Anupama Soni says that incidents of atrocities on women and girls are increasing continuously not only in Rajasthan but across the country. She too expressed fear about being a girl child's mother. She further feels that if the government is not taking the matter of violence against women seriously, it would be meaningless to talk about justice. She was interacting with ETV Bharat on the occasion of International Girl's Day.

Jaipur: International Girl's Day is celebrated every year on the 11th of October. The basic purpose of celebrating this day is to make people aware of the challenges faced by girls and the protection of their rights. But in the present scenario, it is more pertinent to bring their issues in public discourse, to protect the innocent lives from the vices existing in society. To talk more about this, Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao's state brand ambassador, Dr Anupama Soni had a special conversation with ETV Bharat.

She said that there is a crime done against women, every 16 minutes in our country. In such a situation, as long as there is no provision for speedy and strict punishment in the judicial process, then these numbers will not decrease. Dr Anupama Soni says that the incidents of atrocities on women and girls are increasing continuously not only in Rajasthan but across the country. Daughters today feel insecure across the country. "Being a mother of a small girl even I live in fear, I too worry about sending my baby girl out of the house and strict and drastic steps need to be taken to eliminate this tension," she added.

Also, the most important thing is that the legal action has to be speedy. If more women are inducted in the police force, then the plight of women will be understood more sympathetically and they will get justice quickly. Dr Anupama Soni said that they often see that women go to the police station to register their case, but the behaviour of the police is very callous towards them.

There is a need to bring drastic changes in the system

Many a time women are blamed for the crimes against them, instead of getting justice for the incident that has irreparably harmed them, they are tortured. In several cases, high profile people are involved in the crime, due to which the police refuse to even file a case. "If this kind of atmosphere prevails then how do we even hope that women will ever feel safe? Hence, there is a great need for a drastic change in the system," Soni further added.

For those who talk about the One-Stop Crisis, there should be a centre where women can feel free to register their complaint fearlessly. They should not be asked about 50 types of uncomfortable questions. This breaks her morale completely. Her family too feels dejected and helpless.

There should be special courts to hear cases of violence against women. When we talk of providing justice to women it should be as speedy as possible and the culprits must be awarded harshest punishments possible and that too within a set time frame. These strict actions will send out a strong message to other potential criminals who will then think several times before committing any crime. Innumerable times we have seen women returning empty-handed without any justice provided to them from courts.

People must change their mindset too

If the government is not taking the matter of violence against women seriously, it would be meaningless to talk about justice for nearly half a country's population. Talking about the right to equality in Rajasthan, first of all, she should not be deprived of her rights from her own home. "There is a need to change the mindset of the people and I am happy that now people are beginning to think positively in this direction," Soni said.

A positive change in the attitude is now being seen in Rajasthan. Previously, the incidences of female foeticide and infanticide were much higher than in present times and now the graph has improved a lot. This is the reason behind the significant improvement of the sex ratio between boys and girls. Dr Anupama tells that instead of politicizing the incidents of crimes committed against women and girls, the Central Government and the State Government should seriously consider how to ensure quick remedy by punishing the culprits as quickly as possible. "Only then, it will be meaningful to celebrate International Girl's Day," she said.