We call her Mother India. Yet, a survey conducted by ‘Thomson Reuters’ Trust’ reveals that India is at par with Afghanistan, Congo and Somalia as one of the world’s most dangerous places for women. In 2004, a woman was raped every 54 minutes. Today, it is every 20 minutes — with 26,280 rapes a year. National Crime Records Bureau statistics showed that between 1953 and 2011, rape is India’s fastest growing crime: thrice more than all cognisable offences, growing three-and-a-half times faster than murder.
As the Indian woman becomes more aware, educated and employed, the resentment against her in a society governed by patriarchal values has grown. Delhi, the national showpiece whose citizens spend the most among other cities, and on which Rs 28,054 crore was splurged on upgradation ahead of the controversial Commonwealth Games, is also India’s rape capital with 572 cases reported in 2011, around 1.8 times more than Mumbai. The number has gone up to 635 this year — a rape every 14 hours.