Aam Aadmi Party's state spokesperson Sheema Farooqi on Thursday said, that, there is a need to ensure proper implementation of women safety norms in Jammu and Kashmir to keep check on rising crime against women.In a press statement, Sheema Farooqi said, that, Kashmir is considered to be the Heaven on Earth and had been regarded as one of the safest lands in India where rate of crime remained very low previous, especially towards the women.
" But it is very unfortunate that since past few years, the rate of crime against women in J&K has abruptly increased and as per a report published in "The Hindu" last year, Crime against women in J&K has increased upto 15.62 percent," which is a very alarming state and needs an imidiate check, she said.
Sheema Farooqi said, that, Kashmir has been the land of Sufis and Rishis wherein respect and regard for each other has been the first priority of every citizen and so was the case till quite long, but in very recent times, reports of crime have been flourishing from all over the Union Territory, even though safety was supposed to be the first condition by the administration since the removal of Art 370, we have only seen otherwise.
There are reports that 315 cases of rape, 1,414 incidents of attempt to rape and 14 dowry deaths were lodged in 2021 with as many as 1,851 cases also registered in connection with assault on women with the intention to outrage their modesty. Of these, 14 cases were reported from shelter homes for women and children, and five rape cases were reported in custody, she further said.
The conviction rate remained low as only 95 people were awarded sentences while cases under investigation touched 6,275 by the end of last year as per the National Crime Records Bureau mentioned in its latest report.AAP leader Sheema Farooqi, said that, the government needs to provide facilities to to the women to be able to easily report the crime, without psychological pressure, and women police stations should be made available in every block of every district, of the Union Territory, strict measures should be taken against the perpetrators, the laws should be made more strict and actions by the administration should be more swift.
There is every possibility that the numbers mentioned in reports are lower than actuals as many or most of the cases go unreported and it has come to fore, that, the rate of crime has drastically increased this year.Sheema Farooqi, further said, that, the non-conviction of the accused is the prime reason for the increasing crimes in our state.
She suggested a number of remedial measures to deal with the problem, for example, the online procedures of reporting the crime should be made easier, door to door awareness campaigns should be launched, women police should be trained to be more cooperative, councilling in schools and other public areas should also be considered at all levels of the society.
Social policing and citizen reporting may also be a very effective way of dealing with such social crimes
She said, women are the only hope for any society’s growth and development, quoting Napoleon Bonaparte she mentioned that, even such a great emperor asked his people "Give me good mothers and I will give you a good society".Its our foremost duty to keep the women of our society safe from every harm, from rape, from domestic violence, from child marriages, from dowery system, from old age harm, women of J&K need to be looked after or else we shall be raising a very harmful social system for our future generations.
Sheema Farooqi stressed that, Its the duty of not only the administration but also the society at large to ensure that we donot loose our character in any respect, our state of Jammu and Kashmir should always remain an example of excellence for the rest of the world, she said.The administration must not ignore the increasing number of crimes in J&K and the majors must be taken against it without any delay.