CRIME AGAINST WOMEN

Introduction:
“Yatra naaryasthu poojyanthe Ramanethe thatra devathaha”- “Where women are
treated with dignity and womanhood is worshipped. There roam the gods.” It is really very
ironical that the country with high moral, righteous and virtuous thoughts is enduring the
excruciating scream of the daughters of the country and witnessing heinous and abominable
crimes against women.
Home is becoming more hell than heaven.
Women in India are mostly confined to their roles as daughter, housewife and mother, which
can be effectively played within the four corners of the home. Unfortunately the women are
not safe within the four walls of their homes. You may ask why? The answer is because
according to the reports of NCRB more than 95 percent of the rape cases are done by
relatives of the victim. Also, the housewives are subjected to physical and psychological
torture they are tormented, humiliated and harassed irrespective of economic status, religion,
caste and creed.
Simone De Beauvoir once said – “No one is more arrogant toward women, more
aggressive or more scornful, than the man who is anxious about his virility”. Wife abuse
is also seen as reaffirmation of the male self-image as aggressor which has been encouraged
and internalised during childhood. The gravitas of the vulnerability of women can be better
construed by the following studies:
 According to International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES), 65% of
Indian men believe women should tolerate violence in order to keep the family
together, and women sometimes deserve to be beaten.
 According to a BBC report -In India, 70% of women are victims of domestic
violence.
 IMAGES (International Men and gender Equality Survey) report states that 38% of
Indian men admit they have physically abused their partners.

Nehru once said- “You can tell the condition of a nation by looking the status of women.”
The condition of the country can be better ruminated and contemplated by the following
statistics relating to the condition of women.
 India made no improvement in the overall gender gap ranking by the World
Economic Forum (WEF) in 2018, compared to 2017. It stood at a low 108 out of the
149 countries in 2018, the same as in 2017.
 “India maintains a stable ranking this year, but its gap is directionally larger this year,
with a 33 per cent gap yet to be bridged,” says the report, titled Measuring the Global
Gender Gap.
 India's Gender Inequality Index rating of 0.524 in 2017, putting it in the bottom 20%
of ranked countries for that year.
 India ranked 5th in “most dangerous countries for women travellers” by
International women’s Travel centre.
Main crimes against women in India.
Rape-Rape is one of the most abominable and abhorrent crimes which is given under section
375 of IPC. A large number of rape cases remain unreported because of the social stigma
attached to the victim of rape. Rape is the fourth most common crime against women in
India. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2013 annual report, 24,923
rape cases were reported across India in 2012.Out of these, 24,470 were committed by
someone known to the victim. These statistics are alarming because 98 percent of the rape is
done by the known. Procrastination in the rape cases exacerbates the condition of the victim.
Molestation and Groping-groping and touching inappropriately obviously constitute sexual
harassment. The Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal)
Act,2013 categorically proves the supremacy of consent in case of touching.
Obscenity and Eve teasing -Teasing the girls, passing comments on them, harassing them,
troubling them purposely is called ‘eve teasing’. Although IPC doesn’t consist of the word
eve-teasing but victims usually seek recourse under section 292 and 294 of IPC, which gives
punishment to man for obscene gesture, remarks, songs and showing pornographic or
obscene pictures, books or papers to a girl.
Voyeurism- It is one of the abhorrent crimes of capturing or watching a woman engaging in
a private act where she would usually have the expectation of not being observed. Voyeurism
is crime under section 354C of IPC.
Stalking-Stalking is the crime under section 354D of IPC. It is the crime of following a
woman directly or indirectly by electronic forms despite the clear indication of disinterest by
such woman.
Outraging modesty-modesty is a garnishment for women. Any person using any word or
picture or gesture or act or sound with intention to insult the modesty of any women can be
punished under IPC.
Dowry death-The system of giving dowry to a girl at the time of marriage is an age-old
institution in India, because she has no right to inherit the paternal property under the old
Hindu law. The payment of dowry has long been prohibited under specific Indian laws
including the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and subsequently by Sections 304B and 498A.
Even though the number of dowry death is decreasing due to the stringent laws but still there
are many places in India where dowry is inseparable with marriage.
The other crimes against women are- Female infanticide, Acid throwing, Child marriage,
Honour killing, Domestic violence, abduction and kidnapping, cruelty, Human
trafficking and forced prostitution.
Conclusion
Crime against women in India is actually more present than it may appear at first glance, as
many expressions of violence are not considered crimes, or may otherwise go unreported or
undocumented.
 If women will have some control over the resources and access to decision making
structure in the country it will be pivotal in de-escalation of crimes against women.
 There should be proper education for women. Gandhi once said- “If you educate a
man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate an
entire family.”
  Women should come forward for their rights. Maya Angelou once said- “Each time a
woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.”
“There is no occasion for women to consider themselves subordinates or inferior to men.
Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacity.” M.K. Gandhi