Rape Ruckus
On the eve of International Women's Day, Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan came up with a strange suggestion. Addressing a meet on justice for rape victims, the CJI said that "due regard" must be given to the wishes of a rape victim if she wants to marry the rapist or give birth to a child conceived following the crime. The CJI's statement [...]
Where is the law to protect our children from sexual abuse?
The government's decision to introduce a set of guidelines for service providers in the tourism sector in a move to prevent a repeat of incidents like the rape of a Russian girl in Goa recently is indeed a welcome step. The code of conduct envisages, among other things, training tour operators and hotel staff on identifying and reporting potential [...]
Damage Control
With yet another reprehensible incident of a tourist a nine-year-old Russian child being raped in Goa, the state's image is liable to take a further beating. The Russian embassy has warned that unless strict measures are taken by the government to ensure the safety of Russian citizens in the state, it will issue a travel advisory asking them to [...]
What Not To Say?
Goa appears extremely ill served by its politicians. First, there is the tardiness of police in investigating the alleged rape of a Russian tourist by a local politician. Then there are the follow-up comments of Shantaram Naik, Rajya Sabha MP from the state, which not only hit a new low in their sheer insensitivity and callousness towards women [...]
Wanted: A World Fit For Women
The conviction this week of Ajeet Singh Katiyar in Delhi in the notorious Dhaula Kuan gang rape case of a university student from Mizoram is good news. More important than the conviction is the 71-page judgement of the court, which admonished the defence for maligning the victim and maintained that the private life of the victim is irrelevant. "A [...]