Parliament talks more of crimes against women than safety

Hyderabad: As the Parliament’s winter session conclude on the 13th of this month, several questions have been raised concerning women’s welfare.

Out of the 103 written questions raised in the Parliament exclusively related to women, 14 of them were about crimes committed against women. These included domestic violence, sexual harassment in workplaces, trafficking, cyber-crime, and online trolls, among others. One of the questions asked was whether crimes committed against women and juvenile/children in Delhi and Mumbai have increased during the last ten years. The data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau revealed that the crime committed against women and children has been on a decrease in Delhi for the last two years, while it is on the increase in Mumbai.

On the other hand, questions concerned with the safety and security of women were asked seven different times. These included safety of women railway passengers, the security of women employees who work late hours, integrated safety plan for women, and some others. One of the questions asked was whether the government had implemented an integrated safety plan for women. Questions regarding the safety of women mostly involve answers where the government reiterates schemes implemented for women safety. It includes ‘One Stop Centre Scheme’, ‘Universalisation of Women Helpline Scheme’, ‘Mahila Police Volunteer Scheme’ and various other projects under Nirbhaya Fund Framework.

Interestingly, in a question raised on November 29 in the Lok Sabha, the government of India stated that there are no Woman Grievance Redressal Cells set up in rural areas in India. Further, the government added that the Ministry of Women and Child Development have set up 728 ‘One-Stop Centres’ (OSC) across 724 districts in the country. However, around 18% of these 728 OSCs are non-operational.

Massive uproar in Lok Sabha over Hyderabadi vet doctor’s murder

The lower house of the Parliament witnessed massive outrage as it discussed the vet doctor’s gang rape and murder during the Zero Hour in the session on December 2. The Congress MP from Malkajgiri, A Revanth Reddy, had moved an adjournment motion calling for discussing crimes against women in the country. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Congress MP from Nalgonda, talked about how the heinous crime had occurred within one of the most secure areas in Hyderabad, near the airport. Blaming the indiscriminate sale of liquor in the state of Telangana, Vanga Geetha Vishwanath, YSRCP MP from Kakinada, spoke about the murder in the house of the people. She also put forth the point that the Centre and state need to stop shifting the blame on each other and work together.