With nearly one gang rape every two days since 2016, Haryana has become the most unsafe place for women in India.
One of the richest state, Haryana has many accolades to boast of. It produces the largest number of athletes, wrestlers and sportsperson in India and has one of the highest per capita income in the country. Something that we should all be proud of. Yet, apart from this, there is one more thing that Haryana has lately been famous for. The maximum number of gang rapes in the country, even though it forms just 2% of the national population.
Shocking and repulsive. No wonder, Haryana has a new definition. ‘The national Rape State’. And as Indians, we cannot but hang our heads in shame.
Ironically, the BJP government’s ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme was launched in Haryana itself. Surprising then, that the state chosen as the launchpad could not safeguard the very basis of this project. In fact, it has been the anti-climax.
The recent brutal gang rape of the state CBSE topper was horrifying. NewsMobile team tried to get to the root of this cause. To understand the mindset of the brazen ‘Haryana Man’ who doesn’t seem to be scared of the judicial system and has no respect for a woman either.
We tracked the Facebook account of Nishu Phogat and other rapists named in the case, to find some eye-popping facts.
The posts and videos give an indication of the mentality that these people possess. Some of the videos are not even fit to be posted here.
Is this what the future of the country holds? What could be some reasons that lead to an increase in these issues on an everyday basis in the state.
Here are some of them:
• Worst sex ratio in the country.
• A deep-rooted system of khappanchayats, where the nexus goes beyond a balanced opinion.
• Apart from rapes, Haryana also has innumerable incidents of honour killings. It’s the social set up which is rigid and not open to change at all.
• Easy access to pornography, mobile culture and easy money.
• Unemployment, which ultimately leads to frustration among the men.
• And lastly, but most important, the growing status of women in general. With education reaching everyone’s doorsteps, more and more women are venturing out to study and work. Is the male ego hurt then? One of the plausible causes.
• Growing alcoholism.
The state needs to find ways to combat this issue and that too immediately. Rape is a complete NO. The state, governance, police and the social mindset of the people has to undergo a rapid overhauling. Women are not a piece of furniture. They are living beings with as much fundamental rights as the men. Harassing them should be met with serious punishment.
Education and awareness of the judicial laws that govern these atrocities could also be a way of addressing this grave problem.
While the state is expected to launch a state action plan to address gender crimes soon, it is for us as individuals to bring a change within ourselves. Till the time people like Nishu Phogat feel that they can get away after committing heinous crimes like these, it will remain a failure on our part at not being able to protect our women.
The society needs to leave behind archaic ideas of sexual propriety, gender inequality, ‘might is right’ and women abuse. Only then will we growth and progress as a whole.