Equality and The Fight Against Gender Discrimination

It’s been more than two decades since the world started observing International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25 every year, with the main objective to raise awareness about various forms of violence, including rape, physical assault, domestic violence, verbal abuse, etc. that have been inflicted on women across the globe. Despite efforts being taken up by the United Nations, human rights organisations and several others to empower women and fill the visible gender inequality, no significant change has been seen over the years. In fact, cases of crime against women have increased in India, from 3,78,236 in 2018 to 4,05,861 in 2019, which is a 7.3 per cent rise, according to the annual National Crime Record Bureau’s ‘Crime in India 2019’ report which was released recently. The breakup of crimes against women under IPC showed that cases registered under ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’ lead with 30.9%, followed by kidnapping and abduction of women (17.9%) and rape (7.9%). A total of 1,48,185 cases of crime against children were registered during 2019 as against 1,41,764 cases in 2018, which showed 4.5% increase. The report also showed an increase in cases registered against juveniles and human trafficking. This is surely not the kind of change that India or the world would want to see. The data tells that either crimes against women and children have actually increased or more people have started opening up about violence being inflicted on them. Either way, it is clear that the plight of women remains and there is no visible sign of an end to it. Surprisingly, violence against women, especially domestic violence is said to have drastically increased, up to five-fold in some countries, during the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the Covid-19, according to the UN report. It has chosen the theme “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!” for this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, calling for “global action to bridge funding gaps, ensure essential services for survivors of violence during the Covid-19 crisis, focus on prevention, and collection of data that can improve life-saving services for women and girls”. Sadly, the crisis that had brought many families closer and made many retrospect and value life more has also shattered many families and dreams. There may be many reasons for this, including abject poverty, frustration caused by lockdown etc., but why is it always women at the receiving end of any crisis? Did the campaigns against gender-based discrimination and equality over the years bear no positive result? Whatever may be the result, the fight against any form of discrimination should continue till the menace is solved. The government should provide easy access to legal protection to the victims and be held accountable for their commitments towards gender equality, while the public should assist survivors of violence, encourage the victims to speak out, and offer moral support till justice is served. We should not act as mere spectators but work with our respective communities to prevent gender-based violence as stated by the State Resource Centre for Women, Nagaland:  “Violence against women should never be tolerated in any shape or form, be at home or in any public space.”