Over the past few weeks, our newsfeeds have been dominated by horrifying stories of violence against women and girls. Every day, our hearts break a little more. Each story, more shocking than the last, feels like a punch to the gut, reminding us that our country is still failing its daughters, sisters, mothers, and wives.
The recent headlines are too painful to read, yet impossible to ignore. TV, Newspaper and social media is filled with stories that leave us numb. The recent incident of sexual abuse of two innocent kindergarten girls in Badlapur, or the brutal rape and murder of a young doctor in Kolkata, was too horrific to even comprehend.
As a mother, this makes me fear for the safety of my own child. Often I look at my daughter and wonder, how can I protect her in a world like this? As a public servant, it fills me with deep frustration that despite all the awareness, despite the laws in place, the mindset hasn’t changed. There is a systemic failure 2 here—a failure that is as much societal as it is administrative. It’s sickening that Schools, where our children should feel safest, have become yet another place where innocence is stolen.
And by the way, it isn’t just about isolated incidents; it’s about a society that has normalized this violence. It’s a suffocating reality we must confront, that the thought of women as a mere object or an inferior gender is deep-rooted disease in our society. we’ve normalized. Look at the chilling incident in Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh, where a man urinated on a tribal woman, showcasing the absolute disdain for dignity and humanity. I truly believe that it’s also the collective silence of our society, on violence against women, that perpetuates this violence.
In Faizabad, a gang rape left a woman fighting for her life, and in Dehradun, a college student was assaulted on her way back from classes. These cases are not just failures of law enforcement; they represent a deeper societal problem.
These incidents tell us that we live in a society where women are not seen as human beings, but as objects. And this objectification doesn’t start with rape or acid attacks. It begins in our homes, in our schools, in our very thoughts. Before 3 blaming the system, we must ask ourselves, what have we done to stop it? How long will we stay silent as spectators, capturing videos of violence instead of stepping in to save a life?
Acid attacks again are on the rise, adding to the growing list of horrors. A woman’s face—her very identity—destroyed in seconds by an attacker who knows there will be little consequence. These attacks, like rapes, represent the same deep-seated belief that women can be violated, punished, or discarded at will.
Please excuse me for saying this but here’s the bitter truth: until we change our collective mindset, no law or policy will be enough.
We can demand justice all we want, but justice delayed is justice denied. In Badlapur, it took public outrage just to file an FIR. In Kolkata, only after protests and court hearings did the investigation receive the attention it deserved. Why must the screams of victims wait for headlines before they’re heard?
India is no stranger to gender-based violence. From the infamous Nirbhaya case in 2012 to the Kathua rape case in 2018, each incident shakes us temporarily but leaves us with a haunting realization: little has changed. Despite stricter laws 4 and awareness campaigns, incidents of violence against women continue to surge. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), over 31,000 cases of rape were reported in 2021 alone. Yet these figures are just the tip of the iceberg, as countless cases go unreported due to stigma, fear, and a broken system.
But this is not just about statistics. Behind every number is a story—a life forever scarred, a family left devastated, and a society that fails to protect its most vulnerable. What makes these recent cases particularly disturbing is the brazenness with which they were carried out. We must change this.
Not tomorrow, but today. Not just with laws, but with hearts. We need to teach our boys from the moment they open their eyes that women are their equals, not their property. Respect isn’t something to be learned later in life; it must be ingrained in every child’s upbringing. And for our daughters, we must arm them with knowledge, strength, and, yes, self-defense. They must be prepared—not to live in fear—but to confront danger with the courage to fight back. But it cannot end with education.
As a society, we must stop being passive observers. When a woman is harassed in 5 public, do not look away. When a girl cries for help, do not freeze. Step in, shout, stop it. Be the difference between a life destroyed and a life saved. We must be active participants in the fight against this nightmare that haunts us all. The time for excuses is over. The time for action is now. We need systemic reform, yes—but more than that, we need a societal awakening.
A cultural shift that teaches every man, woman, and child that violence against women is not just a crime—it is an attack on our very humanity. And we will not stand for it any longer. I mean, seriously, how many more lives must be lost, how many more girls traumatized, before we say enough is enough?
As a society, we cannot continue to wait for the next horror to jolt us into action. We need to address this at multiple levels— legal, educational, and cultural. We must demand stricter enforcement of laws, swifter justice, and more importantly, a change in societal attitudes. We need to teach our boys to respect women, not as an afterthought but as a fundamental value. We need to hold 6 institutions accountable, whether it’s a school that tries to cover up a crime or a police force that delays action.
It's high time that we seek decisive action, stricter enforcement, and a cultural shift that treats every violation against a child or a woman as an attack on society itself. For every woman, for every girl, let’s demand a society where justice is not an afterthought but a given.
I urge everyone to speak out, demand justice, and above all, work towards a society where such horrors are not just punished but prevented. Together, let’s create a future where such atrocities are not just rare but unthinkable.
*Sonal Goel is an IAS officer of 2008 batch currently serving as a Secretary in the Govt. of Tripura
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