Blog: I protested at Raisina Hill after Delhi gang-rape

New Delhi: Nishtha Gautam is an Associate Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi where she looks at gender issues. She is also an academic at University of Delhi.

I protested at Raisina Hill in December along with thousands of others against the state apathy and a complete breakdown of law and order in our society which was brought to light by the Delhi gang rape. While the majority was baying for the blood of the men that raped, brutalized and killed a young woman, I was asking myself and others, what that would change after all. We'll throw our stones at the Devil and go back home with a clear conscience. These four men will at least get life imprisonment, but there are at least four million others who are roaming free despite committing crimes against women.  (Delhi gang-rape case: Death sentence or life term? India waits)

If this figure of four million men surprises you, let me assure you that this is no figment of my imagination. In a recently conducted survey by United Nations to look at violence against women in parts of Asia, almost a quarter of men surveyed have admitted to committing at least one rape. Although India was not part of this survey, we can conveniently assume that the situation here is as terrifying as in countries like Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, China and Indonesia. So yes, four million is a very conservative estimate. (One in ten men in parts of Asia have raped, says study)

The question, then, is how to ensure that women are not constantly threatened by these habitual or potential aggressors? Strict penal code can act as a deterrent only in a situation when we are assured of conviction and speedy judicial processes. For a man who has successfully evaded the arrest/conviction, punishment is just another word. During the December protests I came across many police personnel who sympathized with the angry crowds. And out of them there were some who brought to light the chinks in our investigative and judicial processes. An ACP reminded me, somewhat sternly, that it is the public that makes the police ineffective by running to the legislators every now and then. I can't say that I disagree with him completely. In our country the police and the armed forces are often used as the private goons of the government: called to do the job, abandoned when things go out of hand. After every law and order situation, a spate of transfers and sacking follows. I'm not sympathizing with the police whose inefficiency has unleashed a reign of terror for the women, and men, in this country. However, the scapegoating must stop and accountability be fixed.

Justice in this case will be served only when we see a positive legacy with respect to conviction rates and judicial processes emerging. The sense of justice will prevail when no woman is denied the right to file an FIR against her tormentors. Our society has a very disappointing gender sensitivity index and this must change. From Sansad Bhawan to schools, we need a change in attitudes towards women and if we are able to accomplish it, THAT will be justice served.   

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