Confront Violence against Women: Petition to Chief Minister, West Bengal
Below is reproduced a petition to be sent to the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, on the issue of rising instances of rapes and other acts of violence on women across the state. Only recently, a brutal gangrape and murder in Kamduni, Barasat has rocked the state. But the ruling party along with other mainstream parties like CPM have always played the politics of violence, including that on women. After all, who can forget the horrific experiences faced by the struggling people of Nandigram and Singur during the time of CPM. The present government too is equally negligent of due democratic processes and values. Recently Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had gone to pay a token visit to Kamduni, the site of the brutal rape and murder. But her misbehavior with the grieving women of the place who wanted simple assurances of security sent shockwaves through the democratic sections of society. On the same day, some students of organizations like USDF and AISA had gone to "congratulate" the Chief Minister with sweets for the [dubious] distinction that West Bengal has : being the no. 1 state in terms of insecurity for women. Not surprisingly, the students who were peacefully protesting were manhandled and arrested and were locked up for over 7 hours.
The NCRB … pointed out that West Bengal recorded 30,942 crime cases against women in 2012. They include 2,046 cases of rape, 4,168 of kidnapping, 593 of dowry deaths and 19,865 of domestic cruelty. [Source: The Hindu]
The following petition has been created by well meaning individuals. The same is also available in Bengali which can be availed at the following Facebook group, Guruchandali.
In a high profile rally to take place on Friday, June 21, from 3pm from College Square Kolkata, this petition will be handed over to participants of the rally as part of a signature campaign. The rally has been supported by individuals like Soumitra Chatterjee, Mrinal Sen, Sankha Ghosh, Nabanita Deb Sen, Mahasweta Debi, Tarun Majumdar, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Tarun Sanyal.
June 21 Rally Against Violence on Women Leaflet
Kabir Suman, a radical cultural activist, has already sung and uploaded on the Kamduni, Barasat rape, taking a sharp dig at the Chief Minister and the culture of rapes in West Bengal. The song mentions Tapasi Malik, the young activist from Singur who was raped and burnt by CPM goons. Kabir Suman's song also highlights how Mamata Banerjee, who projected herself as an activist of "Ma, Mati, Manush" and championed the cause of the likes of Tapasi Malik, has now shamelessly been suppressing the voices of dissent against rapes in the state. In this case, allegedly Trinamool goons were involved in the rape. The villagers though have shown tremendous courage against the adversity and have rejected the compensation sum and promise of jobs from the state government and instead only demanded speedy justice.
http://www.kabirsumanonline.com/home/2013/06/13/kamduni-a-song/
The Petition Text:
To: The Chief Minister of West Bengal
We, all ordinary citizens of India, are deeply shocked by the recent incidents of multiple rapes in West Bengal. Recurring events like these constitute an attack on human rights of all citizens. Though many of us do not reside in West Bengal at present, we strongly feel that news of this nature tarnish the image of the state as a whole. According to recently published statistics, the state of West Bengal has the highest number of reported cases against women. Moreover, brutal incidents like these, shock us just by their sheer brutality, if not by anything else; we are now accustomed to receiving reactions from the Government and the State Administration only in the aftermath of these tragedies; this is really painful and unexpected.
We urgently demand a quick resolution of the situation. We present the following demands for the attention of the Government and the Administration:
1. Instead of waiting for such events to occur and get publicized, it is better that the Administration takes precautionary measures to reduce their chances of occurrence in the first place. A primary duty of an able Administration is to ensure physical security and democratic rights to all its citizens. Slackness or lapses in this regard, for any reasons, political or otherwise, should not be tolerated.
Since it is impossible for the police to monitor all places and streets, quick alternative arrangements should be made.
a) An increased number of police personnel / stations / kiosks should be deployed in places where arrangements are deemed to be inadequate.
b) A statewide hotline number should be implemented as an effective channel of communication with the police. All phone calls and subsequent police actions must be recorded so that citizens can access relevant information through the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Along with phone calls, options should be provided for registering complaints through emails. Complaint cells should be opened in all district and sub division headquarters.
2. Attention must be paid to make police work effective and humane as a whole. Police callousness and insensitivity has now been a common affair. We are all familiar with numerous instances of insensitivity and corruption on the part of the force. The duty of the police is to protect human rights and NOT act as a moral or social guardian to an individual. This is the precise reason that the boundaries and methods of police work be clearly delineated and strictly followed. A mere expansion in the force will hardly work. The police must work in a clearly defined way, to protect the rights and freedom of citizens. If required, adequate training should be provided to develop this attitude.
3. All incidents, such as the recent happening in Barasat, must be quickly investigated and resolved. The investigation and related legal proceedings should be allowed to continue in fastest pace, and without any political influence, whatsoever.
a) Implement Fast Track Courts
b) Monitor the method and speed of police work and other administrative activities. This is to ensure that the general public remains aware of the steps taken by the administration at any given time.
c) The administration should monitor the police more carefully. Strict disciplinary steps should be taken with zero tolerance in cases when police refuse to register FIRs. Arrangements should be made to receive these grievances through the hotline. All related news must be communicated to the public through RTI.
d) An upper limit should be placed on the time required by the police to reach the place of crime after receiving a complaint. In instances of failure to meet this timeline, complaints could be placed through the hotline.
4. Female officials should be employed in all police stations to confirm proper registration of cases of crimes against women, and to ensure humane attitude towards female complainants.
5. Stop all kinds of political interference. The administration must treat a case only by its merit. Political and religious colors should be ignored while gauging the gravity of crimes in all cases.
6. The government should publicly disclose information on the overall law and order situation and publish statistics of crime against women. At the same time it should clearly state the steps it is taking to prevent such heinous incidents and improving the situation. It must update the citizens in regular intervals on any positive or negative developments.
7. Establish an impartial commission to prevent criminalization of politics.
8. State ministers must refrain from voicing their decisions or opinions, prior to, or in the course of any ongoing investigation.
I support the above demands and call on the Government to give them due consideration.
The Bengali version of this petition can be found here.
To protest against the sexual violence towards women in West Bengal.
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