ThePrint asks:
Five years after Jyoti Singh’s death, why is Delhi still the rape capital?
The saddest part is that five years after the Nirbhaya case, nothing seems to have changed. Even Jyoti Singh’s (Nirbhaya) own mother is running from pillar to post for justice.
Every day, six girls and three children are raped in Delhi. The latest NCRB data shows that Delhi continues to be the rape capital. But it is not just the statistics, the reality is that there is zero deterrence. Women are routinely made to face harassment, and there is complete impunity for the perpetrators.
In the aftermath of Jyoti Singh’s case, there has been much talk, but little action. While I know talking about women empowerment is important, unfortunately women’s security is no more than a buzzword. For example, Delhi Police has been demanding 66,000 personnel for so long, and not one has been provided yet. The Delhi Police is busy with its VIP duties, there is no police for ordinary people. We inspected four police stations recently, and all of them were operating at half of their sanctioned strength. The strength of female personnel remains an abysmal 9.5 per cent, when it should actually be 33 per cent.
Here are other sharp perspectives on why Delhi remains India’s rape capital:
Neeraj Kumar, former police commissioner
Kalpana Vishwanath, researcher on urban safety and gender
Ask anyone: is the Delhi Police accountable to its citizens? We need stringent monitoring mechanisms for the police, and that can be achieved through digitisation. The Ministry of Home Affairs has been developing a software to this effect for ten years, but it has still not seen the light of day.
The number of courts too are abysmally low. As the DCW chief, I say this with full responsibility that once a girl is raped by a man, the entire system is out there to rape her. DCW organised a satyagrah and I didn’t go home for 11 days, trying to understand what every last woman in Delhi experiences, and it is pathetic. There is no police, illegal alcohol is creating havoc in their lives, and girls are screaming. But unfortunately, the system is just not listening.
Swati Maliwal is the Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women