[Marxistindia] Resolution adopted at the 24th Congress of CPI(M)

[news from the cpi(m)]

Resolution

 

Against Increasing Violence on Women and Children

 

This 24th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses great
concern about growing violence against women and children in the decade of
BJP rule. Data from the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) 'Crime in
India' reports indicates that the number of reported crimes against women
increased from 3.37 lakh in 2014 to 4.45 lakh in 2022, marking an increase
of over 30 per cent. This increase in the number of crimes is,
unfortunately, accompanied with increased brutality.

 

It is to be noted that violence against dalit women and children has also
increased in this period. Statistics from the NCRB reveal a surge of 45 per
cent in reported cases of rapes against Dalit women from 2015 to 2020. The
situation worsened when incidents of such violence doubled between 2020
(7,397 incidents) and 2021 (15,855 incidents). Very disturbingly, incidents
of rape of Dalit minor girls increased by 21.8% in 2021 (1,285 incidents)
over 2020 (1,055 incidents). The NCRB reported in 2021 that, while more than
10 Dalit women and minor girls were raped every day, there were convictions
in only 24 per cent of the cases. 

 

According to the NCRB report of 2021, BJP-ruled states were the worst
offenders: Uttar Pradesh (1,554 cases) reported the highest number of the
cases, followed by Rajasthan (1,274 cases), Madhya Pradesh (1,222 cases),
Maharashtra (862), and then Haryana (543).

 

Crimes against women also include trafficking and sex-selected abortions.
Years after the PCPNDT Act was passed and despite Government propaganda to
the contrary, the Indian sex ratio for 2024 is 943 females for every 1000
males, which indicates that the basic right to life is being denied to lakhs
of females every year. 

 

Trafficking of Indian women has shown a spurt. Nearly 20,000 women and
children were victims of human trafficking in India in 2016, a rise of
nearly 25 per cent from the previous year (GOI data). In January 2025,
India's Home Ministry informed Parliament that as many as 10,659 cases of
trafficking were reported between 2018 and 2022 and that only about
one-tenth of the suspects in these cases have been convicted. The
discrepancy in the numbers of those trafficked is due to faulty registration
of cases. A UN report says that one of 6 trafficked women in the world are
Indian. The enormity of the problem and the complete inadequacy of the
Government's response are shocking.  

 

Crime and atrocities against `working women' at the working places are
equally concerning.  Amongst many such, the recent cases of R G Kar Medical
College Hospital and Ankita case at a resort in Rishikesh are glaring ones.
Even in entertainment industry such cases are common, which is seen by Hema
Committee Report.

 

The presence of a Government committed to a Manuvadi right-wing ideology has
certainly contributed to this spike in atrocities against women. The Sangh
Parivar, to which the BJP belongs, promotes patriarchal views and policies
and, therefore, it is not a coincidence that perpetrators of violence
against women, including rapists and murderers, receive their unstinting
support and protection. This has been seen time and again in the Bilkis Bano
case, the Hathras rape case, the Brij Bhushan Saran Singh case, the BHU
gang-rape case, the Ram Rahim case and, most horrifically, in the Prajwal
Revanna case. Even more disturbing is the fact that various kinds of
domestic violence, including marital rape, are supported by them as being
essential to preserve the holy institution of matrimony. 

 

The BJP governments at the Centre and in some of the states are deliberately
undermining or withdrawing whatever legal and administrative infrastructures
that were available for the protection and rehabilitation of victims of
violence.  Thus their right to obtain justice is being taken away from them.

 

The 24th Congress of the CPI(M) demands:

1)    Effective prosecution of all cases of violence against women and
punishment of all those guilty of dereliction of duty.  

2)    Serious efforts must be made to ensure legal aid to the survivor or
family of the victim. We must demand that their security and other needs are
addressed by the Government and we must also come forward to help them in
every way.

 

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