Congress women leaders demand holistic conversations

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Congress women leaders said the August 9 rape and murder of a duty doctor on the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital campus in Kolkata was not just about women’s safety but injustice against the fairer sex in all walks of life.

The newly appointed Karnataka Pradesh Mahila Congress (KPMC) president Sowmya Reddy and Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate noted the victim in the Kolkata case was brutalized on campus, which is considered a safe space.

“In this particular case in Kolkata, the doctor was on duty. She was inside a government hospital. It is really tragic that something like this really happened in what is considered to be a safe space,” Sowmya Reddy said.

“We are 50 per cent of the population. If our own streets and workplaces are not safe, then where are we really heading?” she asked. Shrinate echoed these sentiments.

“Society has to reflect. Are women safe at our educational institutions, workplaces and the fields that they work? I would demand that such heinous crimes against women merit capital punishment,” she said.

Sowmya added that this moment should force the political class to course correct on their dismal record on representation of women in top brass of parties, state Assemblies and the Parliament.

“For more than 30 years, women have been fighting for equal representation in the Assemblies and the Parliament. Thanks to the late Rajiv Gandhi, we have representation of about 70 per cent at the Panchayat level. Just before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP government passed the (Women’s Reservation) Bill but that was just eyewash. In fact, the Mahila Congress protested against this in New Delhi two weeks ago when the Parliament was in session,” Reddy said.

She pointed out that the Bill would come into force only after 15 years after the census and delimitation of Lok Sabha seats was concluded. She added that under the Bill, 33 per cent seats would be reserved for women rather than 50 per cent as was originally envisioned.

“If you barely have four to five per cent (women) in the Assemblies and only 15 to 16 per cent in the Parliament, then the issue isn’t being taken seriously,” Sowmya said.

‘BJP hobnobbing with abusers’

Reddy and Shrinate blamed the ruling BJP at the Centre for associating with politicians accused of sexual abuse such as former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna.

“Crimes against women have been increasing in the past 10 years. BJP says ‘beti bachao, beti padhao’ (save and educate girls). However, people who are either culprits or accused of violence against women are being given tickets by the BJP. Even recently, in our state, a person who was an MP contested again in Hassan,” Sowmya said.

“Governments should disclose whether they stand with victims or the perpetrators. The culprits feel emboldened when the BJP stands by the likes of Brij Bhushan Singh and Prajwal Revanna,” Supriya said.