Question

Can you think of a recent women's movement to show solidarity to the cause of women? Describe such event in your own words.

Answer 1

Recently, many women’s movements have occurred that express solidarity towards the cause of women. None of them has been as popular and influential than the movement in reaction to the gang rape and murder of a 26 year old physiotherapy student on 16 December 2012 in Delhi.

Public protests erupted all over Delhi shortly after the incident. They went on for many days and saw participation of thousands of people. These included citizens from all walks of life, be it students or the working class. The incident had an effect of galvanising all castes and classes of people to demand justice for the victim and to actively change the deteriorating situation of women’s safety in the country, particularly in Delhi.

As a result of this widespread agitation, the government formed a committee to look into means and ways to strengthen women’s safety. As per the committee’s recommendations, various criminal laws were amended, and punishments were made more stringent with respect to cases of violation of women’s modesty and safety.