Swati Maliwal has been on fast since April 13, demanding death penalty for rapists of children
On a hunger strike for nine days, Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal today said she will break her fast tomorrow after the Union Cabinet approved an ordinance or executive order that introduces death penalty for the rape of a girl under 12 years of age.
Swati Maliwal has been on fast since April 13, demanding death penalty for rapists of children after the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua and other instances that took place recently.
"I am happy that though after nine days the central government has taken the first step to hang rapists of small children within six months," Ms Maliwal said, announcing she will break her fast at 2 pm tomorrow.
Swati Maliwal, however, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today on her other related demands. She said just changing the law is not enough, more important is its implementation and even more important is raising the police resources and their accountability.
"If the police resources and their accountability are not increased in the country, then do whatever, rape would not stop," she said adding that the Prime Minister had the duty to determine the police resources and accountability.
She said for the last 10 years, Delhi Police has been demanding 66,000 police personnel but has not happened till date. The direct impact of this is borne by the public, she said. Police is only able to do the duty of VIPs, not of the public and most police stations have less than half of the strength, she said.
The outrage over rapes of children was triggered by two incidents in Kathua and Uttar Pradesh's Unnao where leaders of the ruling BJP were seen to have tried to supported or shielded the accused. The grisly details of the crime and the horror inflicted on the eight-year-old child in Kathua also dramatically shifted the narrative.
The centre's move today to introduce capital punishment for child rapists is seen as an effort to signal the government's commitment to fight sexual crimes against young girls. The change was cleared at a meeting of the Union Cabinet convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi within hours of his return from a five-day foreign tour.
With inputs from IANS