The hunger for rape must end
She is the main reason that prompted the government to create a law to judge violations cases within a maximum period of six months. Her name is Swati Maliwal and she is the director of the Women's Commission of Delhi, an entity that investigates the violations of the laws in cases that violate the rights of women.
This lady went on hunger strike in April to ask for more severe penalties against rapists. The thing is that in recent weeks, India has been shaken by a wave of violations. According to the National Crime Registry Agency of India, sexual abuse is one of the biggest problems faced by women in that country; just in 2016 around 39,100 girls and women were victims of rape.
People took the streets shocked by the cases that came to light those days. In April, the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl, apparently by seven Hindu men, put the government on the horns of a dilemma, and it was extremely criticized for the little importance given to the case. A few days later the media reported that two other girls were raped and burned. These cases recalled the outrage over the gang-rape of a young woman on a bus in Delhi in 2012, who died of serious injuries.
In view of this situation Swati Maliwal, very committed to the fight for women's rights, held a hunger strike in April to demand more severe penalties against rapists and that cases be tried faster. Thanks to this cause, she succeeded in getting the government to pass a law to try cases of violations within a maximum period of six months. In addition, the death penalty will be implemented for rapists under 12 years of age.
Maliwal remembers how those days were extremely sad, not only because of the crime but because the Government openly supported the actions of the murderers by not pronouncing on the crime. The people joined in the condemnation, but, unfortunately, most of the proposals of the organization she leads are ignored by the Government.
The hunger strike lasted ten days, as the tenth prime minister's government, Narendra Modi, finally surrendered, and passed legislation that says every individual convicted of raping a child will be penalized by law, within 6 months of the act.
