Rape and murder of doctor in India sparks outrage

THERE WAS Nearly 32,000 rapes were reported in India in 2022, the latest year for which data is publicly available, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. That figure vastly underestimates the prevalence of sexual violence in the country. Most incidents are never reported. Those that are rarely make headlines.

Every now and then, a particularly horrific case sparks national outrage. That’s what happened in 2012, when a 23-year-old student was gang-raped on a bus in Delhi and left for dead on the side of the road. She later succumbed to her injuries. Or in 2020, when a 19-year-old Dalit farm worker was gang-raped in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, allegedly by a group of upper-caste men from her village. She, too, died.

That’s what’s happened in recent weeks, following the August 9 rape and murder of a 31-year-old medical intern while on night shift at a hospital in Kolkata, the capital of the eastern state of West Bengal. Women across the country have taken to the streets to demand safety from violence and equality at work and in public life. Doctors have gone on strike to demand better working conditions. The outrage is significant, says lawyer and activist Vrinda Grover: “It shows that this is wrong and that we as a society will not tolerate this violence.”

Yet in recent years, outrage has done little to improve the lives of Indian women. The number of rapes reported in the country was higher in 2022 than a decade earlier. This may be due to a greater willingness to report these crimes, but it doesn’t mean the risk of being a victim has decreased. Public spaces still firmly belong to men, and women are expected to protect themselves when they venture outside their homes (which are often not very safe either).

One reason is that the government is failing to enforce its own laws. The Calcutta case, for example, could have been avoided if the doctor had been given access to a safe rest area, as is already required by India’s workplace safety regulations. And while high-profile cases like the one in 2012 have been dealt with quickly by special courts, the legal process for most victims remains painfully slow and unpromising, with only about a quarter of cases resulting in a conviction.

Meanwhile, violence against women is still widely considered acceptable. Nearly half of Indians surveyed by the government between 2019 and 2021, both men and women, said a husband was sometimes justified in beating his wife for offenses such as “disrespecting” her parents or going out without asking her permission. Marital rape is not a crime.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of violence against women in his August 15 Independence Day speech, without specifically mentioning the case of Kolkata. His main recommendation was to “spread fear” by toughening punishment. Rekha Sharma, chairperson of the National Commission for Women under Mr. Modi’s previous government, blamed the government of West Bengal, which is run by an opposition party. She had previously said that highlighting the issue of sexual violence was tantamount to “defaming” the country. India is not alone in its need to address violence against women. But policymakers are not taking the issue of reducing it seriously. ■

Stay up to date with our India coverage by signing up to Essential India, our free weekly newsletter.