The slogan ‘Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights’ was first used in the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993. This was introduced in order to give the women the due recognition which they were denied since time immemorial. Women have been denied the basic fundamental human rights for centuries and have been subjected to exploitation, discrimination and prejudice. These rights are inalienable which are available because one is a human being. They are very essential, as they are a part of humanism, which is the underlying feature of democracy.
In India, though the rights of women is expressly recognised by the Constitution of India and various Statutes, the condition of women itself is not progressing. With the ongoing debates on the safety and rights of women in India in the light of the recent increase of rape case and assault cases, various experts, jurists, politicians and citizens have spoken about the condition of the women in India. One such imminent personality to speak on the same is the renowned Justice Madan Lokur.
What started as a speech on the basic human rights, he stressed to a great extent on the bodily rights and integrity of woman and her choices in the light of the aborting rights and sexual harassment is considered. Relying on report of the National Crime Records Bureau for 2017 (released in 2019), he stated that on an average, a rape is committed every 15 minutes and 1/3rd of the victims are minors. One woman is burnt every hour for dowry and 241 cases of sexual harassment are registered every day. Sadly, a great number of such cases go unreported, showing how bad the condition of women is, in this country. Drawing an analysis of the data available and of being aware of the functioning of the government, he said that,
“The human rights of women and girls appear to be only talking points and not actionable points. I say this because there are more than enough funds available for women’s safety, but these are not being utilized.”
He also emphasised on the recent encounter between ten policeman and four accused, resulting in the death of the four accused, for alleged to have committed the rape of Disha (name changed). In his words,
“many have celebrated the encounter deaths and many have condemned it. The full facts and details of the event are not yet available since the incident is pending inquiry. Therefore, it is not advisable to be judgmental about it, notwithstanding the reportage of some suspicious circumstances.”
As Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru rightly pointed out, “ You can tell the condition of a Nation by looking at the status of Women”.
Image link –
https://cutt.ly/1rqyj06
