As the country is witnessing protests against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said she was “dismayed and horrified” to learn about the crime.
She also said what is even more depressing is that it is part of a series of crimes against women.
“No civilised society can allow daughters and sisters to be subjected to such atrocities,” the President said, adding, “Enough is enough”.
“Even as students, doctors and citizens were protesting in Kolkata, criminals remained on prowl elsewhere,” President Murmu said.
“The society needs an honest and unbiased self-introspection, and ask itself some difficult questions. Very often a deplorable mindset sees the female as a lesser human being, less powerful, less capable, less intelligent,” she told news agency PTI.
“Those who share such views then go further and see the female as an object. We owe it to our daughters to remove the hurdles from their path of winning freedom from fear,” Murmu said.
PRESIDENT RECALLS MEETING CHILDREN WHO QUESTIONED HER ON NIRBHAYA GANG-RAPE
During her interaction with PTI, the President recalled her recent meeting with a group of schoolchildren on Raksha Bandhan.
“They asked me innocently if they could be assured that there would be no recurrence of the Nirbhaya-type incident in future,” she said.
She noted that an outraged nation then made plans and devised strategies, and the initiatives did make some difference.
“Let us deal with this perversion in a comprehensive manner to curb it right at the beginning.”
“Societies scared to face history resort to collective amnesia, it’s time now for India to face history squarely,” she said, adding, “In 12 years since Nirbhaya, countless rapes have been forgotten by society, and this ‘collective amnesia’ is obnoxious.”
“There have been countless tragedies of similar nature though only a few drew nationwide attention.”
“Did we learn our lessons? As social protests petered out, these incidents got buried into a deep and inaccessible recess of social memory, to be recalled only when another heinous crime takes place,” she said.
PRESIDENT ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN
Taking a macro view of the rights of women, President Droupadi Murmu said they have had to fight for every inch of ground they have won.
“This is a rather deplorable mindset, which sees the female as a lesser human being, less powerful, less capable, less intelligent,” she said.
“It is ingrained deeply in the minds of such people,” she added, stressing that countering this mindset is a task for both the state and society.
Comments
0 comment