As per the new provisions of the law outlined by the home minister of India no women can be arrested after sunset and before sunrise except in exceptional circumstances.

The police will also be required to give information about the arrest of a person as well as place of detention to anyone who may be nominated by the accused. A provision for compensating a person who has been detained by the police without any valid ground has also been made.

Some good news for women victims of police harrassment at last.
What do you think?
WPI

Under the new definition of rape proposed by Home Ministry of India, RAPE is going to be called as sexual assault and it will include oral sex, molestation.

Sexual offences committed by policemen, personnel from armed forces, and in hospitals, schools and colleges will invite greater punishment. While the current punishment for rape between 7 and 10 years would be increased to minimum 10 years to life imprisonment or even death.

The bill is likely to be introduced in coming monsoon session of Parliament to bring into orce these changes.

Do you think it is a positive development?
Will it deter rapists?
WPI

The Vice-Chief's of India Army had remarked in a leading newspaper last week that the Army could do well without its women officers. It stirred a hornet's nest and had sparked countrywide protests from women's groups, including National Commission for Women, and this blog ()too.

Looking at this growing protest, army retreated and asked the same person to tender apology for the anti-women remarks.
"Should my remarks have caused any anguish or doubt about my personal commitment and healthy respect towards the role of lady officers, I have no hesitation in rendering an apology to such groups or sections of society or individuals," Vice Chief today while tendering apology.

THIS IS SURELY VICTORY OF INDIAN WOMEN OVER INDIAN ARMY.

WPI

You might have heard of rent-a-womb, but who ever heard of rent-a-wife - it goes a step further of even wife-swap!

And these are certain people - especially in tribal belts - who have sniffed up a rather unusual business opportunity in the difficulty posed by the skewed sex ratio in Gujarat.

If many tribal daughters are being sold in marriage, there are also reports of husbands agreeing to their wives staying with higher caste men not able to find a wife in their community for a monthly rental charge!

In Netrang taluka in Bharuch, police officials quote the instance of Atta Prajapati allowing his wife Laxmi to stay with a Patel in Mehsana for a monthly rental of Rs 8,000. Laxmi has two children and used to work as a farm labourer at Patel's farm.

The demand for brides fuelled by the dwindling number of girls in Mehsana, Patan, Rajkot, Gandhinagar and other districts has inspired many agents and poverty-struck families to capitalise on the situation and make some quick bucks.

In certain pockets of Netrang, Valia, Dediapada, Sakbara, Rajpipla and Jhagadia, tribals from Vasava community families can be witnessed entering into financial agreements with brokers - called Vachetias - from Banaskantha, Mehsana and Ahmedabad districts to marry off their daughters to Patels or those from the Thakur community for a price.

The broker charges anywhere between Rs 65,000 to Rs 70,000 from the Patel and then pays the Vasava families Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 for their daughters.

Many "middlemen" operate in the tribal heartland to supply tribal girls for Rs 500 and Rs 60,000, depending on how desperate the girl's family is.

With the demand for girls escalating, a committed agent easily makes Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh every month! "We cannot take action against this activity as no one comes forward to lodge a complaint.

Also read my earliar post on the issue of skewed sex ratio in rural India and its impact. Renting and hiring wife is another impact of the same phenomenon.
WPI

Under a project facilitated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, about 500 sex workers in Mysore own chip-embedded smart cards, which when presented during transactions help them get discounts at select shops and hotels and earn them loyalty points that can be redeemed for discounts on later purchases. The shopping basket can include provisions, food at restaurants and clothes.

“Sex workers face stigma and discrimination in their daily life. The smart card is a symbol of self-esteem that creates a sense of inclusion for them in the society,” Ratna, a community member at Ashodaya, a non-government organisation (NGO) that works on AIDS, said.

(SOURCE)

My question to you all is whether it will be pragmatic to legalise commercial sex work?

What is legal status of commercial sex workers in your country?

The bar dancers in the city have come out in support of item girl Rakhi Sawant, who is currently in the news for being molested by singer Mika Singh. The Bhartiya Bargirls Union (BBU) will hold a morcha outside the Oshiwara police station on Saturday afternoon and demand the arrest of the singer if he does not apologise to Ms Sawant.

The president of BBU, Ms Varsha Kale said, "After the issue of the ban on dance bars, this is the only issue we have taken up. We support bar dancers and the reason for coming to Rakhi’s rescue is because she is also an ‘item girl’ in Bollywood. This is completely unfair on the part of the police that they are unable to arrest Mika despite an FIR being filed against him."

Ms Kale added that, "If Mika is not arrested despite our morcha on Saturday, then we will take a huge agitation outside the Oshiwara police station on Monday."

We didn't take out rally against Mika as he surrendered in the court on Saturday morning.

A woman lieutenant of the Indian Army, commissioned just 10 months ago, committed suicide by shooting herself in Udhampur, headquarters of the army's Northern Command in Jammu and Kashmir, apparently because she was "dissatisfied and unhappy with her job."

The army began inducting women in 1993-94. The Indian Army has 918 women serving as Short Service Commission officers in various branches -- excluding the Army Medical Corps and the Army Dental Corps. This policy has received bad publicity after a series of incidents in which women officers levelled serious allegations — ranging from molestation to harassment — against their superiors. The suicide of a woman officer in Udhampur on Thursday — attributed to work-related depression — has added to this.

This is the first incident of its kind in Jammu and Kashmir of a woman army officer committing suicide.

In response to this incident what army spokesperson says is more amazing. Vice-Chief Lieutenant General S Pattabhiraman says the force can well do without its women officers. It means they want no women in army.

Do you agree with this?
Should women be part of army or not?

Read full story here

Another story

A law has at last come into force in the state of Maharashtra (India) making eve-teasing a cognizable, non-bailable offence.

The Maharashtra Prevention of Eve-Teasing Act 2006 also provides for speedy trials. The comprehensive law states that a man of any age who by signs, expressions or gestures, whistles, foul language, or songs harasses any woman of any age at a public place is liable for prosecution.

Women have expressed satisfaction with the ordinance. But police officers were not aware of its existence.

Hopefully this will act as deterrent for those who make women's public life hell and stop harrassment.

Read the story here

In the most parts of rural india girl children are aborted in huge numbers as everyone wants boy child only. This has led to imbalance in the male-female ratio dramatically. Now some of its effects are surfacing.
They are:
1. More unmarried men in society
2. Men have to buy brides from poor regions
3. Increase in the number of commercial sex workers to meet growing demand of unmarried older menfolk

Do you have such phenomena in your country?
What do you think of this?

Read related report here

A 14 year girl who alleged that 90 men raped her over a period of two years has revoked her earlier statements.

Currently staying at the Madanpura (Mumbai-India)children’s home, she said that it was her father, Aasik Ali, who raped her repeatedly and not the 90 men that included her relatives and friends.

Isn't it horrible?

Read this whole shocking story here