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India ranks among the top 5 most unsafe countries for women

WEB DESK: India became the worse country for women, as India ranked among the top five most unsafe countries for women.

For women living in the villages surrounding the Reserve, the forest has long served as a sanctuary, a space where they could find freedom and express themselves, away from the stifling constraints of India’s “highly conservative and male-dominated society.” These women typically venture into the forest to gather firewood and grass, enjoying a brief respite from societal norms.

However, with the installation of camera traps, drones, and sound recorders for wildlife conservation, the pervasive “male gaze” of society has now extended to these once-safe spaces. In a deeply troubling incident, local men shared an image of a woman with autism relieving herself in the forest on social media. In response, villagers destroyed nearby camera traps, symbolizing a backlash against this intrusive surveillance.

According to Rosaline Duffy, an environmental conservation expert at Sheffield University, these acts of surveillance are not mere accidents but deliberate tactics of harassment aimed at controlling women’s movements, India is ranked among the top five “most unsafe countries for women” worldwide, with the increasing frequency of harassment incidents making it one of the most perilous places for both local and foreign female tourists. Since 2012, reported rape cases have exceeded 30,000, and by 2023/2024, this number had surpassed 40,000, with four rapes occurring daily in Delhi alone.

Even the armed forces are not immune from this crisis, with incidents of mistreatment of women in the military, such as inappropriate behavior toward a lady captain by Major General R.S. Jaiswal, IG of Assam Rifles, and numerous reports of misconduct involving female cadets in Gujarat. Foreign female tourists, too, are not spared, with several high-profile rape cases further damaging India’s international reputation.

Senior criminal lawyer Rebecca M. John, who represents rape victims, points out that many criminals in India commit their offenses with little fear of punishment due to weak law enforcement. Despite the Modi government’s introduction of various laws designed to present a progressive image, the conviction rate for rapists remained alarmingly low, hovering around 27-28% between 2018 and 2023.

This reflects a broader problem of ineffective policing and inadequate enforcement. Indian civil society and international NGOs must increase their pressure on the government to establish clear and robust guidelines for the application of these laws and impose strict penalties for their misuse. Despite India’s growing global economic influence, local women and foreign female tourists continue to suffer from rampant sexual violence.