Skip to main content

Regretting impact of 2002 riots, Tata Institute report talks of high incidence of sexual abuse of Gujarat girls

By Rajiv Shah
In a shocking revelation, a new report by high-profile NGO Save the Children, Wings 2014: The World of India’s Girls” has said that Gujarat’s 63.1 per cent girls may be subjected to sexual abuse, which is apparently, the highest in India. Pointing out that in the country as a whole there are 47.06 per cent such girls, the report, which has been prepared by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, says that most of these girls suffer silently, and “don’t report to anyone”. The report, significantly, carries a congratulatory message from Najma Heptulla, minorities minister under the Narendra Modi government, among others.
Lamenting poor child sex ratio (CSR) in Gujarat, as also other states, the report says, though “concerted community-level interventions” have meant that there should be significant improvement in CSR in states like Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, there have been only “marginal improvement in states like Tamil Nadu and Gujarat over the past ten years”. In fact, it regrets, “None of these improvements signify a considerable shift in son preference. CSR has crossed the 900 mark in only two states in the north-west – Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.”
Pointing out that “in states like Delhi and Gujarat, it seems that roughly the same proportion of families is resorting to sex selection today as a decade ago”, the report states, “A study conducted by the Public Health Foundation of India in 52 districts in 18 states reflected the poor implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act. The study found that there were as in June 2009, that is, 15 years after the Act came into force, only 606 cases were pending under the Act, of which only 21% were related to communication of fetal sex while the others were for violations of other technical compliances.”
Specifically referring to Gujarat among other states, the study says, “Surprisingly, despite it being so rampant, no case of illegal sex determination had been fi led in Gujarat, West Bengal, Goa, Assam, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. In fact, data till 2006 reveals that as many as 22 of the 35 states in India had not reported a single case of violation of the Act since it came into force.”
Saying that in the two decades starting 1990 have shown “significant improvement in enrolment of children - especially girls - at the primary level”, and “in eight major states, more than 11% girls in this age group were not enrolled in school”, the study says, “By 2011, this figure had dropped to less than 6.5% in three of these states (Jharkhand, Gujarat and Odisha) and less than 5% in three others (Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal).” However, “gender gaps” remain, it underlines: “In the 11-14 age group, for example, Bihar has surpassed Gujarat, ranked among the more economically developed states, both in terms of both gender parity as well as overall enrolment levels.”
Referring to how following violent conflicts, such as the 2002 communal flareup in Gujarat, “there is a tendency for increased family and community controls on young girls as a result of real and imagined possibilities of sexual violence”, the report says how the phenomenon of ghettoised schooling was seen happening “in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence”. It adds, “Homogeneous ghettoised schools make girls’ social experience insular and confined to their own communities, where even basic friendships with other children cannot develop. Worse, this has a direct negative impact on the mobility of girls who get more restricted to home and community spaces.”
In fact, the report states, over the “last 20 years, conflicts in India have assumed geographical, community and caste dimensions. It must be recognized that even in the absence of a violent event, many areas are characterized by a simmering conflict that compounds the anxiety for safety of girls. In December 1992 and January 1993, Bombay, Surat, Ahmedabad, Delhi were among the cities where attacks on Muslims, murder, rapes of women and girls took place. During the 2002 Gujarat massacre, the plight of children affected by mass violence and conflict came into sharp focus, when mass marriages of girls took place in the relief camps and children, especially girls, were assaulted sexually, brutally maimed and murdered.”
The report particularly regrets, Gujarat is one of the states, along with Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, where the state completely shed its responsibility towards such girl children, adding, “In place of the state, it was NGOs and community organisations who took responsibility for sustained relief and protection, especially of women and girls”
Insisting on the need for “recognition of caste-based and communal violence resulting in greater violation of girls’ rights”, the report refers to “specific impact of conflict situations on the girl child, as seen in Gujarat (2002), Khairlanji (2006), and Muzaffarnagar (2013)”, adding, there are increasing instances of “exceptional physical and sexual violence” with “a long-term impact on their right to development, protection and participation due to increased restrictions, poor living conditions, loss of educational opportunities and early marriages.”

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'A disaster in the making': Expansion of oil palm plantations in Northeast India

By Rupa Chinai, Ravi Chellam*  Until a few decades ago, India was nearly 100% self-sufficient in edible oils, with a diverse variety of oilseeds that were grown and consumed sustainably in keeping with the ecological and climatic conditions of different regions in the country. Today, India is highly reliant on palm oil imports to meet its vegetable oil demands. 

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.