New Delhi: It was on 16 December 2012 , when a 23 year old paramedic was gang-raped inside a chartered bus in south Delhi, her organs mutilated, and she and her boyfriend thrown out of the bus, nude in the chilly night. The girl fought a grim battle against Delhi, was airlifted to Singapore, but succumbed to injuries. The brutal gangrape and murder triggered a nation wide protest with the protesters reaching up the doorsteps of Rashtrapati Bhavan and Raisina Hill, seat of the government. Two commissions of inquiry were set up, one to look into suggestions for modidfying anti-rape laws, and the other to go into the lapses on the part of police while handling the gruesome incident. A 13-member special task force headed by Union Home Secretary was constituted on 1 January 2013 to look into safety issues of women in Delhi and review the functioning of the city police on a fortnightly basis.The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 was promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee, on 3 February 2013 which provides for amendment of Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 on laws related to sexual offences.The Ordinance provides for death penalty in extreme case of rape.But the nation is still not safe for women. On 22 August 2013, a 22-year-old a photojournalist became the target of rapists in Mumbai.The rape case has triggered protest in MumbaI but the question remains the same -- Can these protests help in making the nation a safe living place for women?But this gangrape is not an isolated case. Gangrapes and murders of victims continue to take place throughout the country, and the National Crime Records Bureau staistics vouch for this assertion. The Delhi gang-rape protest forced the government to amend anti-rape laws and enacts laws for women's safety but theoccurences of such incidents have not abated. The trial in a fast track court of the rapists involved in Delhi gangrape continues, with the prosecution trying to wind up its arguments. The final sentence is still awaited. A similar fate awaits the Mumbai gangrape case. Though the state government has promised to provide speedy justice from a fast track court, it remains to be seen how the new anti-rape laws will be put to test for the first time. The question that haunts people is: Will India ever be a safe nation for its women?Watch the nation wide protest against gang-rape in pics: Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor , speaks to media as she participates in a protest against the gang rape of a photojournalist in Mumbai. Sonam Kapoor participates a protest against the gang rape of a photojournalist in Mumbai. Young Indians hold placards during a protest against the gang rape of a photojournalist in Mumbai. A man holds a placard during a protest against the gang rape of a photojournalist in Mumbai. Activists of Avaaz, a campaign network, protesting the rape of a 22 year old photojournalist in Mumbai. Activists of Avaaz, a campaign network, protesting the rape of a 22 year old photojournalist in Mumbai. Indian men hold placards during a protest against rape in New Delhi. Man shout slogans during a protest against rape in New Delhi. Youth march holding placards during a protest against the gang rape of a photojournalist in Mumbai.
Updated on: August 27, 2013 6:12 IST
