Pathbreaking and extensive - those are the words being used to describe the Justice Verma Committee report on amendments to criminal law in the wake of the horrific rape of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in South Delhi last month. The attack provoked never-before-seen outrage across the country. The report, which has been produced and submitted to the government in exactly 30 days, calls for profound changes not just in our legal system but also in the mindset of citizens. The culture of violence against women doesn't begin and end with changes to the law, it changes once feudal, sexist and deeply entrenched values are rendered obsolete - this report shows the direction, but is the government, and are we, as citizens, listening?
