Declaring that enough is enough, President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said it is time for India to wake up to the perversion of crimes against women and counter the mindset that sees women as less powerful, less capable, and less intelligent.
Murmu further said that those who share such views then go further and see the female as an object. “We owe it to our daughters to remove the hurdles from their path of winning the freedom from fear,” Murmu said in a signed statement shared with news agency PTI.
Referring to the August 9 rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal’s Kolkata, a dismayed and horrified President Murmu said what is even more depressing is that it is part of a series of crimes against women.
Murmu said no civilised society could allow daughters and sisters to be subjected to such atrocities. “The nation is bound to be outraged, and so am I,” she wrote.
The impactful and personalised piece, titled “Women’s Safety: Enough is Enough,” marks President Murmu’s first public expression of her stance on the tragic August 9 Kolkata incident, which has once again stirred the nation’s conscience and sparked widespread and ongoing protests.
In the midst of protests in Kolkata, President Murmu highlighted the concerning fact that criminals were free to commit offenses in other locations, even targeting young girls such as those in kindergarten.
Recalling a recent encounter with schoolchildren during Raksha Bandhan, Murmu shared their innocent inquiry about the likelihood of preventing future incidents akin to the tragic Nirbhaya case in Delhi back in December 2012.
She reflected on the past 12 years since that incident, acknowledging that despite initial outrage and planning, many similar tragedies have occurred, with only a few receiving widespread attention, questioning whether the lessons have truly been learned.
President Murmu emphasised the constant struggle women face in securing their rights due to deep-rooted social prejudices and opposing customs, which perpetuate the detrimental view of women as inferior beings.
She pointed out that the objectification of women by a segment of society is a significant factor contributing to crimes against women, calling for a joint effort from both the State and society to counter this mindset.
While recognising the existence of laws and social initiatives, Murmu highlighted a persistent obstacle hindering progress in addressing crimes against women.
Addressing the tendency for societies to ignore painful history through collective amnesia, Murmu passionately urged for a thorough exploration of the underlying issues of crimes against women, stressing the importance of collective remembrance and learning from past failures to foster a more vigilant future.
She called for honest and unbiased self-reflection within society to identify errors and rectify them, underlining the necessity of addressing these challenges to ensure the equitable rights and freedoms of all individuals.