Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a “change in mentality” towards women and urged citizens to combat misogyny. He condemned rapes and crimes against women in India in his first Independence Day speech as prime minister in 2014, saying “when we hear about these rapes, our heads hang in shame”.
According to him, our behavior is distorted and we often insult women. He urged people to make a pledge to eliminate everything that humiliates women or commits crimes against women.
Mr Modi has spoken about gender equality and respect for women before.
Data show that crimes against women have not abated under his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
Thus, the numbers show a consistent year-over-year increase except for 2020, when a hard lockdown forced India to shut down for months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the year 2021, for which the government released crime statistics last week, India recorded the highest number of crimes against women.
As a result of improved reporting and more people going to the police to register cases, activists say the rising graph is a cause for serious concern.
Based on National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports over the past six years, here are five charts.
Rising Graph Crimes Against Women
Between 1 January and 31 December last year, police in India recorded six million crimes, 428,278 of which involved crimes against women.
Compared to 2016, there were 338,954 cases – an increase of 26.35% over six years.
The majority of cases in 2021 were kidnappings, abductions, rapes, domestic violence, dowry deaths, and assaults, according to the report.
In addition, 107 women were attacked with acid, 1,580 women were trafficked, 15 girls were sold, and 2,668 women were victimized by cybercrime.
Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with 240 million people, topped the list once again with more than 56,000 cases.
The state was followed by Rajasthan with 40,738 cases and Maharashtra with 39,526 cases.
Capital of rape
There were 31,878 rapes recorded last year, up from 28,153 the year before, but down from 39,068 in 2016.
Thousands of rape cases are reported each year in India, earning it the nickname “the rape capital of the world”.
Several countries report equal or higher numbers of rapes than India.
Critics say the world’s largest democracy gets a bad name because it stigmatizes victims and survivors, as well as shames them by the police and judiciary.
A Muslim woman who was gang-raped and saw 14 members of her family killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots recently spoke of the “searing pain” she felt after her rapists were released.
Bilkis Bano’s unfair treatment made global headlines, reinforcing the perception that Indian women often suffer unkind treatment.
Abductions and Kidnappings
76,263 women have been kidnapped and abducted since 2016, up 14% from 66,544 in 2016.
Murder, ransom, prostitution, and domestic work were some of the crimes committed.
The majority of kidnapped women – 28,222 – were taken away to “compel them to marry”.
Families of women who elope with their lovers despite parental disapproval file many of these cases.
Crimes Against Women At Home
Indian law refers to domestic violence as “cruelty by husband or his relatives” and it has consistently been one of the most reported violent crimes against women.
The police received 137,956 complaints from women in 2021 – one complaint every four minutes. This is a 27% increase over 2016, when 110,434 complaints were received.
In India, one in three women experience gender-based violence, according to the World Health Organization.
However, what sets it apart is the silence surrounding violence in the home, even approval of it.
Approximately 40% of women and 38% of men told a recent government survey it was okay for a man to beat his wife if she disrespected her in-laws, She didn’t take care of her home or children, went out without telling him, refused sex, or didn’t cook.
Crimes Against Women After Marriage
India outlawed dowries in 1961, but the centuries-old tradition of the bride’s family giving gold, cash, and other expensive items to the groom’s family continues.
A recent World Bank study found that 95% of rural Indian marriages involved dowries.
According to campaigners, thousands of women are killed every year by their husbands and in-laws for not bringing in sufficient dowries.
As a result, most of the victims are burned to death, and the murders are excused as “kitchen accidents”.
The Indian government introduced a tough new law in 1983 to curb dowry deaths. But thousands of brides are still murdered every year despite Section 498A.
The police recorded 6,795 dowry deaths last year, or one every 77 minutes.
Police recorded 7,628 dowry deaths in 2016, an improvement of 10.92%.
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