TODAY, March 8 is observed as International Women’s Day (IWD). The theme this year is , Be bold, for change” and women across the universe are expected to echo this slogan. In Meghalaya the scenario as far as women’s safety and security is concerned has reached a new low. Every single day there are reports of rape coming in from different corners of the State. This year alone there have been two cases of rape and murder of young women. It is difficult to make sense of what’s happening here. Meghalaya has lived in a bubble and believed itself to be a place where women are respected and socially and economically mobile. This perception is now a myth. Matriliny which is lineage from the mother’s clan line does not, by itself, confer any rights on women. The youngest daughter inheriting ancestral property from her mother is contingent upon her giving up her rights to work outside of home because she is the care giver to her parents until their death. Khasi men have however turned the inheritance clause on its head and want to be coinheritors of parental property. This is a muchdebated matter.
Coming to crime against women it is ironic that matriliny actually has no safety valve to prevent its women from being groped, raped, gang-raped, molested and murdered. The latest gruesome murder is that of a young girl whose body was found at Itshyrwat on the way to NEIGRIHMS on Tuesday morning. On Monday the discussion on women’s safety in the Assembly was disallowed by the Speaker on technical grounds. On Tuesday the matter was raised but the Government seems inured by such crimes. Another frightening scenario is that the crime graph in Meghalaya is higher than that of Uttar Pradesh known as the State of “jungle raj.” If Government continues to take crimes against women lightly and only give lip service, then the people of Meghalaya have no other option but to take to the streets. Justice for victims in this State is an unattainable dream. The police don’t seem to have a timeline within which to solve murder cases. Conviction rates are abysmal! In this scenario observing International Women’s Day is a just a symbolic gesture. How can women, “Be Bold For Change,” when they are under constant attack? The Opposition needs to do more than just raise issues. It needs to create a stir and shake up the House and the conscience of those in the Treasury benches.