Confab Slams Failure of Laws To Protect Women, Children

Hyderabad: India may be making progress in science, technology and economy, but it is failing to protect its women and children and violence against them is increasingly accepted as routine, speakers said at a national convention in Hyderabad on Friday.

Addressing students, academics and activists at the congress organized by All India Democratic Students Organization (AIDSO), former Telangana High Court judge Justice G. Radha Rani questioned why stringent laws have failed to ensure justice. “We have laws like POCSO Act, Disha Act, Nirbhaya Act, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act and Dowry Prohibition Act. But justice is still not reaching women,” he said, adding that there is little point in development if children and women continue to face violence.

Former CSIR NISCAIR chief scientist, poet and documentary filmmaker Gauhar Raza said the problem extends beyond crime to the mindset of the society. “There is an attitude of disdain for women both at home and abroad. Worse still, brutality, rape, sexual assault and murders are increasingly being treated as if they were natural events, without pain, anger and resistance,” she said.

Political economist Parakala Prabhakar said spaces for democratic debate and dissent are gradually weakening. He also pointed out that the wage gap continues, saying that women still receive less wages than men even though they do the same job.

Student leaders said the problem goes beyond individual crimes. AIDSO general secretary Shibashis Praharaj and central joint secretary Shruti Shivhare described the rise in violence as part of a broader cultural attack and appealed to the society to collectively resist and ensure justice and dignity for women and children.

Two resolutions were adopted unanimously at the convention. While one called for stronger measures to prevent crimes against women and children, the other demanded the closure of the National Testing Agency (NTA), action against repeated leaks of exam papers and condemned the police crackdown on students protesting at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and elsewhere in the country.

Speakers called for a nationwide movement to protect the rights, dignity and safety of girls and children, saying legal provisions alone will not be enough without social and institutional accountability.