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Indian government indifferent to violence against women

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Summary of story from The Hindu, June 30, 2011

An Indian MP has spoken out against the government for their lack of action in passing laws to prevent sexual assault on women.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member and MP Brinda Karat has condemned the Congress-led UPA government for their apathy in tackling violence against women, which she says is taking a heavy toll and exposing them to various forms of violence.

Karat was in Khammam this week to participate in the 12th State conference of the All-India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA).

Speaking after the conference, she said that legislation to protect women and girls from sexual assault and violence had been pending for several years.

She said “What prevented the government from bringing in legislation to check sexual harassment of women at work place as per the verdict of the Supreme Court in the Vishaka case dating back to 1997?” and went on the highlight the rising crime rate against women, which she said had assumed serious proportions.

According to the latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in India, a crime is committed against women every three seconds, but the conviction rate is abysmally low.

Karat described New Delhi as the “crime capital,” and criticised the government for lacking the political will to progress the long-pending Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament (see WVoN story).

She also highlighted further exploitation and abuse of women, noting that Andhra Pradesh, India’s fourth largest state, had become a hub for unethical clinical trials whereby impoverished women were being used as ‘guinea pigs’ for illegal clinical trials.

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