This Independence Day, with our campaign ‘Azaad Bharat, Azaad Naari’, we are reaching out to women across the nation to understand what azaadi (freedom) means to them, their take on independent India for women, and more. HerZindagi recently spoke to Delhi Commission For Women chief Swati Maliwal and during the quick chat, Maliwal spoke about the status of women in independent India in detail. DCW chief called HZ’s ‘Azaad Bharat, Azaad Naari’ a much-needed campaign and urged people across the country to join in the initiative.
Further, DCW chief, Swati Maliwal while sharing her take on independence for women in India. She said, "I feel that even after 76 years of independence, women aren't completely independent in the nation. We face a lot of issues, there are a lot of roadblocks, economic, social, political, there are all kinds of roadblocks in the way of a woman's life which makes her battle through life.”
"The battle begins as soon as a girl is born. Parents, society, and everyone around her condition her in a way that even when she grows up and becomes independent, she somehow feels weak and this is the reality of our nation, we need to speak about it and change it,” she added.
Women’s Safety In India, A Grave Concern
Do you feel safe? You could be in the national capital Delhi, a rural village around Rajasthan, a bustling city like Mumbai but one common thing is the fear in our hearts. Most women dread stepping out every day and Maliwal feels that many factors like inadequate law enforcement, lack of reporting system, and social stigmitisation contribute to it.
She said, “When a woman gets ready in the morning, be it anywhere in the world, she continually thinks of what she should wear, how should she act when she is out, where she should go, will I be able to come back home timely, or I don't end up doing something wrong, the safety concern in India somewhere prevents the woman from getting ahead in life. On the other hand, if you see a man in her place, it is quite easy for him, he can wear anything, go anywhere. It's not like men don't have a battle to fight but it's just that they are quite different from what women face.”
"It is unfortunate that even after 76 years of independence, we continue to repeat the same concerns around women in India. Every day in the nation, multiple rape cases are reported. In the national capital Delhi, every day, six rape cases are filed. Eight-month-old babies are getting raped, 90-year-old women are getting raped and not the atmosphere is like anything can happen,” she added.
Perpetrators Get The Ticket To Roam Freely
Time and again we have witnessed rapists, and murderers being set free, garlanded in the country. Maliwal stressed the disturbing silence around crimes against women in the country. She said, "What happened in Manipur recently, two girls were paraded naked, molested, gang-raped and no one is talking about it. PM Modi didn't visit Manipur, didn't meet the victims, entire Manipur is burning, so there are a lot of questions that we should ask ourselves this independence day. Ram Rahim is a rapist and murderer and every second day he is released in Parole by the Haryana government, so how can a woman feel independent if she sees rapists and murderers roaming freely.”
“If you see Bilkis Bano, a 19-year-old girl was gang-raped when she was 5 months pregnant, her family members were killed in front of her, her three-year-old child was killed and the convicted perpetrators were released last independence day,” she added.
DCW chief feels that it is a long road to travel ahead to reach a truly independent nation.
More Women In Politics, Need Of The Hour
Crimes against women continue to rise, but the government has failed to introduce adequate policies and rights for women to prevent violence and harassment. The DCW chief attributes it to the lack of women in politics. She said, “The parliament also has only 14% females. I think all political parties should vow and the central government should immediately bring in a law that at least 50% reservation happens for women in the parliament and all other state legislatures. This is very important because when will we talk about women, when will policies be introduced if women aren't a part of politics, governance.”
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Further, Maliwal underlined the need of having a prompt criminal justice system. “Along with this, we need certainty and swiftness of punishment in the country. If a woman is subjected to something wrong in the nation, the perpetrator should be punished, timely and via a process. This will eventually help build a system that people fear. Today, no one is scared before they assault a child or a woman and they feel that the system won't be able to do anything. Till the time the system isn't strict and a strong message is sent out to people, rapists, and other perpetrators who commit crimes against women they won't change.”
Time To Change The POV
Unfortunately, discrimination begins with us, our mindset. The patriarchy that exists in our society has reached the grassroots. For years now, we have been considering our daughters inferior to our sons and when we have this belief, we raise a girl who grows up thinking she is the weaker gender. Maliwal feels that family, and educational institutions have a big role to play.
She said, “Even if you see educational institutions of India, the situation is such that there is a blanket ban on girls after 7 pm to get to the hostel. But boys on the other hand have no such bans on them. This is clear discrimination between girls and boys. How do we expect our nation's growth in such a situation?”
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“We need economic, social, and political empowerment and this will happen when we all change. How do we see the difference between girls and boys? I don't see a difference. I know girls who are Olympic wrestlers, they not only fought for our nation but also raised their voices against sexual harassment. Women today are wrestlers, they have reached the moon, and all over the world they are working in high-rank positions, women today are in a situation where they outweigh 10 men. Women are powerful but still, there is a mindset that prevents women from growing in life. We need to challenge this mindset and till the time this doesn't happen, the celebration of independence is incomplete without it,” she concluded.