INDIA
The gang rape case in India in December 2012 sparked many protests in the country’s capital.
Sumitra Mahajan, MP, (BJP) said laws once made should be implemented, with children divided in to two categories, one below 12 years of age and the other above.
She asked for the setting up
of fast track courts, deployment of women police personnel in each police station and the sensitization of people about crimes against women. She suggested penal provisions for prosecuting those who incriminated innocent persons on false charges of rape or other sexual assaults. The legislation should not give
an impression that it was gender bias against male but was only to provide justice to women. Shri Shailendra Kumar
(SP) thanked the government for keeping the age of consent for sex as 18 years, and not 16 as provided in the ordinance. Emphasizing the need to encourage women to be economically independent, he also asked the government to ensure that the provisions of the legislation were not misused. Shri Kalyan Banerjee,
MP, (AITC) described rape as a heinous crime and was against showing any mercy towards the rapists. Cautioning against the misuse of the law, he also highlighted the need to educate people about its various provisions.
Shri Pinaki Misra, MP, (BJD) said the government should have taken into consideration the majority of opinion of the House before bringing forward the Bill. The way the ordinance was brought in a panic after the 16 December incident showed complete chaos in the thinking of the government. He believed the Bill failed to address trafficking and police reforms. Shri Anant Gangaram Geete, MP, (Shiv Sena) supported the Bill as it would put the fear of law in the minds of the criminals. He assured the support of his party to any step that sought to ensure the safety of the women. Smt. Supriya Sule, MP, (NCP) believed gender equality was the key to providing safety and security to women.
She also highlighted the importance of judicial and police
reforms and making police more sensitive to women’s needs. Shri Gurudas Dasgupta, MP,
(CPI) said there were many laws but the main problem was its non-enforcement. He regretted that atrocities against women committed in places far away from the saddle of power were going unnoticed. Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, MP, (SAD) said something had to be mentioned in the Bill about trafficking of adopted children and women being pushed into the trade by their husbands. There was nothing in the definition of rape which mentioned physically challenged, mentally retarded and handicapped girls and what was needed to ensure their safety. Smt. Priya Dutt, MP, (INC) said the Bill was a great step forward but women had to be encouraged to be able to go and lodge a complaint.
Lamenting that equality in terms of equal opportunities and rights in political, economic and social spheres between men and women did not exist, Smt. Shatabdi Roy, MP, (AITC) said
neither any legislation nor any discussion in Parliament would be required when equality was provided to women in the real sense of the term. Referring to the ill treatment of women in society, Smt. Meena Singh (JD- U) believed crime against women would be checked the moment they were treated as equal human beings.
Replying to the debate, Shri Shinde said the government had taken immediate steps for enhancing punishment for the rapists. A provision had been made to punish the police officer in case he/she did not lodge a report, and he agreed that a female police officer should be appointed in each police station. The Minister assured the House to make more efforts on the issue of modernization of the police force.
At the end of the debate, the
resolution for disapproval of the ordinance promulgated by the President was dismissed and the Bill, as amended was passed on 21 March and received Presidential assent on 3 April 2013.
The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue Two | 153
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