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Rape in India has been described by Radha Kumar as one of India's most common crimes against women.[1] In the 1980s, women's rights groups lobbied for marital rape to be declared unlawful, as until 1983, the criminal law (amendment) act stated that "sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age is not rape". Marital rape is now illegal in India but is still widespread.[2] Official sources show that rape cases in India have doubled between 1990 and 2008 [3]
During partition
During the Partition of India, rape was an extensive issue.[4] It is estimated that during the partition, up to 100,000 women were kidnapped and raped.[5]
Notable incidents
The rape and murder of English teenager Scarlett Keeling, on 18 February 2008, brought international attention to cases of rape in India.
A Russian national working in India claimed that she was raped by Goa politician John Fernandes on 1 December 2009 after having dinner with him that evening.[6] Shantaram Naik, an MP of the Indian National Congress, occasioned widespread disapproval, when he said, "...an alleged rape of a lady who moves with strangers for days together even beyond middle of the night is to be treated on a different footing."[6][7] Mamata Banerji stated [8] that free interaction between men and women today has led to these crimes.
The gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a public bus, on 16 December 2012, sparked large protests across the capital Delhi.[9] The incident was so severe that the victim's intestines had to be surgically removed.[10] She was with a male friend who was severely beaten with an iron rod during the incident.[11] In the 24-hour period after the hours-long gang rape of the victim, at least two girls under the age of 18 were gang raped and one of them murdered.[12] The following day, there was an uproar in the Indian parliament over the incident. MPs in both houses had set aside their regular business to discuss the gruesome rape case and demanded strict punishment for those who carried out the attack. Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, demanded that "the rapists should be hanged".[13] Thousands of people participated in a massive demonstration in 22 December, mostly young, in protest. Police announced that six men suspected of rape have been arrested.[14] As a result of this incident, the government has promised speedy trials in cases of violations. It will improve the lighting of roads and public transport and there will be more police patrols to ensure the safety of women.[14]
Jammu and Kashmir
There have been allegations of rape and mass rape in Jammu and Kashmir being carried out by both Indian armed forces and militant groups.[15][16] In 1991, the 4 Rajputana Rifles unit are alleged to have entered the village of Kunan Poshpora and raped between 30 and 100 women aged between 13 and 70.[17][18] The Indian government carried out three inquiries into the allegations and concluded that it had been a hoax. The International Commission of Jurists have stated that though the attacks had not been proven beyond a doubt, there was credible evidence that it had happened.[19] In 2011, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) asked for the reopening of the case.[20]
Groups such has Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat ul-Ansar have all been accused of carrying out rapes.[15] The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front have been accused of ethnic cleansing by using murder, arson and rape as a weapon of war to drive out hundreds of thousands of Pandits from the region.[21][22]
Northeast India
Human rights groups allege that the Indian armed forces under the protection of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 have carried out a large amount of rapes in the Nagaland, Assam and Manipur provinces.[23]
Uttar Pradesh
In 2011 there were a number of brutal assaults on women in Uttar Pradesh and according to the People's Union for Civil Liberties(PUCL) the majority of those assaulted were poor women from remote areas and Dalit's. SR Darapuri vice president of the PUCL stated "I analysed the rape figures for 2007 and I found that 90% of victims were Dalits and 85% of Dalit rape victims were underage girls,"[24]
See also
References
- ^ Kumar, Radha (1993). The History of Doing: An Account of Women's Rights and Feminism in India. Zubaan. p. 128. ISBN 978-8185107769.
- ^ Kinnear, Karen L. (2011). Women in Developing Countries: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. pp. 26–27. ISBN ABC-CLIO.
- ^ "http://www.arabnews.com/indian-student-gang-raped-thrown-bus-new-delhi". AFP. 17 December 2012.
- ^ Žarkov, Dubravka (2007). The Body of War: Media, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Break-Up of Yugoslavia. Duke University Press. p. 172. ISBN 978-0822339663.
- ^ Butalia, Urvashi. Harsh Dobhal. ed. Writings on Human Rights, Law and Society in India: A Combat Law Anthology. Human Rights Law Network. p. 598. ISBN 81-89479-78-4.
- ^ a b "Goa MP Shantaram Naik says some women invite rape - India - DNA". Dnaindia.com. 2009-12-15. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
- ^ Buncombe, Andrew (December 17, 2009). "Goa MP says rape after midnight 'not a crime'". The Independent.
- ^ "Mamata's bizarre reason for rise of rapes". Sify.com. 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
- ^ 4:54PM GMT 19 Dec 2012. "Video: Protests grow over gang rape of Indian woman". Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
- ^ "No option, victim’s intestines removed". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
- ^ "Delhi gang-rape: victim's friend, also on bus, gives statement in court". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
- ^ December 19, 2012, 12:33 PM (2012-03-15). "Brutal India gang rape triggers outrage". CBS News. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
- ^ "Delhi bus gang rape: Uproar in Indian parliament". BBC News. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Un muerto en la India durante las protestas contra una violación". Lavanguardia.com. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
- ^ a b Warikoo, Kulbhushan (2010). Kulbhushan Warikoo. ed. Religion and security in South and Central Asia (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 978-0415575904.
- ^ Margolis, Eric S. (2001). War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 81. ISBN 978-0415930628.
- ^ Abdication of responsibility: the Commonwealth and human rights. Human Rights Watch. 1991. p. 14. ISBN 978-1564320476.
- ^ Chatterji, Angana P. (2012). Ania Loomba, Ritty A. Lukose. ed. South Asian Feminisms. Duke University Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-0822351795.
- ^ Schofield, Victoria (2002). Kashmir in conflict: India, Pakistan and the unending war (2nd revised ed.). I.B.Tauris. p. 157. ISBN 978-1860648984.
- ^ Ganai, Naseer (October 21, 2011). "Human rights panel asks Jammu and Kashmir govt to reopen army mass rape case". India Today.[dead link]
- ^ Forsythe, David P. (2009). Encyclopedia of Human Rights. Oxford University Press. p. 306. ISBN 978-0195334029.
- ^ Flint, Colin (2011). Introduction to Geopolitics (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 192. ISBN 978-0415667739.
- ^ Karlsson, B. G. (2011). Unruly Hills: A Political Ecology of India's Northeast. Berghahn. p. 51. ISBN 978-0857451040.
- ^ "Rape and murder in Uttar Pradesh". BBC. 18 July 2011.
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