New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu in the wake of the gruesome rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata admitted that she was in a predicament over her reply when some schoolchildren who had come to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan “asked me innocently if they could be assured that there would be no recurrence of the Nirbhaya-type incident in future”.
In an article under her name titled ‘Women’s Safety: Enough is Enough’ with the subheading ‘The recent spate of crimes against women should force honest self-introspection to uncover the roots of the malaise’, the President revealed her outrage, and observed that such incidents tarnish the country’s enviable record of women’s empowerment, “of which she considers herself an example”.
President Murmu observed that training in self-defence and martial arts is essential for all, particularly girls, “but that’s not a guarantee for their security as women’s vulnerability is influenced by many factors”. “Obviously, the full answer to that question can come only from our society. For that to happen, what is needed first of all is honest, unbiased self-introspection. The time has come when we as a society need to ask ourselves some difficult questions. Where have we erred? And what can we do to remove the errors? Without finding out the answer to that question, the half of our population cannot live as freely as the other half,” she maintained. The President particularly called out the mindset which objectifies women, but noted that it was not limited to India only. She also highlighted the collective amnesia which grips the society once the initial shock of a heinous crime loses its impact.
