Demanding effective laws against sexual violence based on the Justice Verma Committee recommendations, women activists, academics, writers and students will gather at Jantar Mantar here on Thursday, the first day of the Budget Session, to hold a “People’s watch over Parliament”.
The group has also asked Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P. J. Kurien to resign following allegations of his involvement in the Suryanelli gang rape case in Kerala.
Addressing a press conference organised by Bekhauf Azadi (Freedom Without Fear) earlier this week, All-India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) secretary Kavita Krishnan said: “The Central government’s ordinance systematically overturns and rejects every recommendation of the Justice Verma Committee that seeks to safeguard women’s autonomy and undo deeply-entrenched gender bias, end the impunity enjoyed by powerful rapists, and ensure accountability on part of the police.”
“By making it possible for men to file cases of rape against women, it has played a cruel joke with the movement demanding justice for women. The ordinance makes sure that laws continue to protect politicians, police and army officers, and bureaucrats, who are accused of rape and sexual violence. The ordinance is lenient towards police officers who fail to file FIRs in cases of sexual violence. The ordinance retains all the anti-women biases that exist in the present laws. We reject this eye-wash ‘ordinance’ and demand an effective law against sexual violence based on Justice Verma Committee recommendations,” she added.
Also present at the conference was Hindi writer Maitreyee Pushpa and poet Anamika among others.
The activists said a petition with 20,000 signatures from across the world demanding prohibition of the ‘two-finger’ test for rape was submitted to the Union Home Minister, Law Minister, Women and Child Minister, Minister for Health and Family Welfare as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women on Monday.
Activists said the test was known to be sexist and demeaning, yet still was being condcuted.
They condemned the fact that the ordinance had failed to render such procedures illegal. Pointing out that the ordinance amended the Indian Evidence Act to state that a woman’s past sexual experience would not be considered relevant, activists demanded a specific amendment to the Cr.PC .
