Thursday, April 04, 2013

Sexual Offenses Bill to Be Altered to Pass Parliament


Following the happenings of India’s women’s rights laws, the article is an update on what is happing regarding this bill. The bill, which is long overdue is expected to be altered to “garner wider political support in a divided Parliament.” Many of these changes are being seen as either entirely too harsh, by the more traditional Parliament representatives, while many women’s activist are seeing them as not enough. For example, the defining of new offenses “stalking” and “voyeurism” have been said to be an “unnecessary harassment of people” by Ram Gopal Yadav, the Samajwadi party. While speaking on the same topic, women’s rights activist Vrinda Grover noted that Yadav’s perspective is “indicative of a regressive mindset” that the country has struggled with for centuries.

With a stark difference within the Parliament regarding this bill, I think that it is imperative to make the bill more widely acceptable. It also needs to remain obtainable. A huge change in policy is what many people are hoping for with the passing of this bill, but it is the enforcement of this bill that is going to be where the changes are going to be seen. If this bill faces the same type of adversity that it has already seen, then it may be time to change the strategy of the policy makers. Smaller steps may need to be taken in numerous stages so that changes can slowly be implemented in this society.

Caroline Dawkins
3/21/2013

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