In-laws, Outlaws and the Rule of Law
Leena Mehendale[1]
Abstract: This paper presents spatial
analysis of two most heinous crimes against women namely, rape and dowry
deaths, across the country. Such a study has not been attempted so far. The
NCRB data for 1995, 1996 and 1997 disaggregated at district level is taken as
the basis for the analysis. An agenda for policy planners, and social activists
emerges, as the study brings out certain striking findings. (1) Most of the
districts with high rates of rape have low dowry deaths and vice versa.(2) Out
of first 50 districts having high rape rate (greater than 400 per crore), 27
are from MP.(3) Similarly, out of first 50 districts having high dowry death
rates (more than 125 per crore) 21 are from UP.(4) Thus a vivid clustering of
these two crime types is seen. (5)Moreover, in the high rape rate list, only 8
districts have dowry death rate higher than 100. In the high dowry death list,
only 7 districts have rape rate higher than 300. (6) The either � or nature of these
two crimes against women points to an unfortunate dilemma before the women.
Those who seek to come out of boundary walls of domestic life face the violence
outside while those who seek to remain inside, face dowry deaths. (7) More importantly, A scatter graph demarcates a zone in which both the crime types
are simultaneously on the higher side. These districts are from MP, Delhi,
Haryana, UP, Maharshtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan. This shows that we need
to pay special attention to Central
India. To create an atrocity free environment for women.
Introduction: As the Year of Empowerment
for Women is coming to an end, it is necessary to bring to focus the survival
dilemma faced by women in India. During my study of district level crime data
for Maharashtra, (Mehendale, 2001) I had found that all districts from two
revenue divisions Nagpur and Amarawati had very high rates of rape but low rate
for dowry death. As opposed to this, all districts of Aurangabad division had
very high rates of dowry deaths but low rates for rape. This was the picture
throughout the decade of �90s. It was only logical to undertake a similar
analysis at All India level and see what pattern emerged.
I used the figures of
average incidence of these crimes for the period 1995-97 as the basis of this
study. Surprisingly, the pattern repeats itself at the national level. Within
individual different states too, a similar �either- or� pattern was found in
Rajasthan, Himachal, Andhra, Bihar and Bengal.
Among all crimes against
women the two crimes of rape and dowry death are the most heinous. The threat of first clips the wings of a
woman ready to take flight into freedom and achieve goals outside the
boundaries of the household. It cripples her mentally and hurts physically
beyond the imagination of anyone else. Dowry death, on the other hand, arises
out of a mentality that denies the women equal status and respect even in
supposedly �her own� house.
What are the pre-conditions
for empowerment of women for which we are all so keen? As analysed earlier,
(ibid) access to relevant education, economic opportunities and freedom from
violence are the key factors. This finding shows that the first two are
necessary pre- conditions but not sufficient ones. In past fifty years various
Government schemes were formulated for providing education and to some extent,
economic opportunities. However, there was no conscious scheme for freedom from
violence or speedy justice delivery. This is, perhaps, the reason for this very
typical situation in which women, both educated or uneducated, working outside
or inside the �home� find themselves. Although it can be a matter of part
satisfaction that a state or a region can concentrate its efforts on one type
of crime against women, the academicians and activists will have to consider
what has been lacking in our justice delivery mechanism and what options they
can advocate for women victims of these two crimes.
Chart 1: below gives a state-wise comparison between rates of rape and that of
dowry death. The All India averages for these two are 157 and 58 respectively.
It shows that Delhi has high rates in both. Most of the states with high rates
of rape have low dowry deaths and vice versa.
States with high rate for rape but low for dowry deaths are: mizoram,
MP, Arunachal, Himachal, Assam, A&N islands. State with high rate for dowry
deaths but low rate for rape are UP, Haryana, Punjab. Lakshdweep has no crime
against women. States in which both the rates are on the lower side are
Manipur, Gujrat, Karnatak, Kerala and Tamilnadu.
Chart2: The state level aggregate
is not a very powerful indicator as it tends to average out the local level
extremes. Hence a district level desegregation is necessary. Chart 2 gives the
lists of first fifty districts having highest rates of rape and dowry deaths
each.
The district with highest
rape rate (877) is East Siang in Arunachal Pradesh, while that with highest
dowry death rate (300) is Mainpuri in UP.
The district level analysis shows two peculiar features. Out of first 50
districts having high r/r, 27 are from MP. Similarly, out of first 50 districts
having high dowry death rates 21 are from UP. (see the 2 lists). Further, the
50 districts of first list do not have dowry death rates exceeding 200 while
the 50 districts of second list do not have r/r exceeding 400 per crore.
Two scatter graphs at chart
3 and 4 below show these 100 districts.
It is possible that both types of crimes arise mainly from a typical power- mongering male attitude and the banter about women being enemy of women as often quoted while referring to the role of mother- in- law is really not the main cause for the dowry deaths. This line of argument deserves further consideration.
chart 5 is a district level scatter graph plotting rape rates vs dowry death rates. This can be studied with respect to the point (400,134). Districts in which both the crimes are higher than these limits - ie the 1st quadrant districts are only 6, namely Sagar, Damoh, Hoshangabad, Gwalior, north west Delhi, and Karnal. As delineated by the third curve, north Delhi and Raisen can be added to this catagory. Other 17 districts are delineated by fourth curve and yet other 30 by fifth curve . Chart 6 gives the lists of these 55 districts. All of them are from MP [23], UP [13], Delhi [8], Haryana [5], Rajasthan [4], Maharshtra [2], AP and Bihar 1 each.
Thus MP, Delhi, Haryana and
Maharashtra are states with high rates in both crimes. Orissa too comes in this
catagory though at a lower level. The 2nd quadrant districts with high dowry
deaths but relatively low r/r are UP, AP and Punjab. The 4th quadrant districts
with higher r/r but lower dowry rates are Mizoram, Himachal, Arunachal, Assam,
Bihar, and Rajasthan. Among the 3rd quadrant districts the real lowest ones
falling below the point (200, 67) are from Kerala (except Waynadu), Tamilnadu,
Bengal, Gujrat (except Surat city), and Karnatak.
This linked Chart gives a list of worst 25 districts alongwith another 32 districts where both types of crime rates are high enough to warrant a more concerted action.
It is worthwhile to see the
north- east separately. Arunachal, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Meghalaya
(except Jaintia hill district) have no record of dowry deaths. Out of these
Manipur and Nagaland have low r/r too; only 3 districts exceeding a rate of
100. In Meghalaya too, all districts have r/r below 150. On the other hand,
Mizoram districts have very high rape rates. In Arunachal, East Siang with its
highest r/r appears an aberration, though other districts also have high r/r.
Tripura with its proximity to Bengal has a low but non- zero dowry rate and low
r/r. Sikkim too has no record of dowry deaths.
The either � or nature of
these two heinous crimes against women points to an unfortunate dilemma before
the women. Those who seek to come out of the boundary walls of domestic life
face the violence outside while those who seek to remain inside, face dowry
deaths. Where can women find the succor? Perhaps an answer can be found by
launching an effective action for safety of women in the central parts of the
country and drawing lessons from it.
�
Chart 1:
state name |
R/rp |
R/dd |
mizoram |
581 |
0 |
MP |
448 |
69 |
delhi |
410 |
128 |
Aru_P |
355 |
0 |
tripura |
281 |
37 |
assam |
250 |
12 |
rajasthan |
234 |
73 |
HP |
220 |
14 |
A&N islands |
206 |
20 |
haryana |
184 |
125 |
orissa |
176 |
59 |
J&K |
165 |
7 |
all india |
157 |
58 |
maharashtra |
153 |
51 |
meghalaya |
145 |
2 |
bihar |
144 |
43 |
kerala |
132 |
8 |
sikkim |
131 |
0 |
AP |
119 |
59 |
daman & diu |
118 |
0 |
goa |
113 |
15 |
UP |
111 |
123 |
D&N haveli |
111 |
19 |
west bengal |
110 |
18 |
nagaland |
98 |
0 |
chandigarh |
95 |
29 |
gujrat |
72 |
14 |
punjab |
70 |
75 |
manipur |
56 |
0 |
tamilnadu |
54 |
21 |
karnatak |
50 |
39 |
pondichery |
30 |
22 |
lakshdweep |
0 |
0 |
state |
dist |
R/rp95-97 |
R/dd95-97 |
state |
dist |
R/rp95-97 |
R/dd95-97 |
AR PRADESH |
SIANG EAST |
877 |
0 |
UP |
MAINPURI |
75 |
300 |
RAJASTHAN |
JHALAWAR |
837 |
54 |
MAHARASHTRA |
AURANGABAD |
126 |
291 |
MP |
RAISEN |
837 |
117 |
MAHARASHTRA |
LATUR |
87 |
247 |
MP |
SIHORE |
789 |
42 |
BIHAR |
MADHEPURA |
100 |
233 |
HP |
KINNAUR |
773 |
0 |
UP |
ETAH |
165 |
233 |
MP |
GUNA |
765 |
33 |
UP |
KANPUR |
123 |
229 |
RAJASTHAN |
BANSWARA |
726 |
38 |
RAJASTHAN |
DHOLPUR |
236 |
217 |
MP |
VIDISHA |
689 |
65 |
MP |
RIWA |
242 |
214 |
MP |
SAGAR |
688 |
165 |
UP |
UNNAO |
193 |
203 |
MP |
HOSHANGABAD |
671 |
138 |
UP |
ETAWAH |
181 |
202 |
MP |
RAJGARH |
661 |
27 |
HARYANA |
REWARI |
196 |
201 |
MP |
BALAGHAT |
643 |
25 |
UP |
FEROZABAD |
170 |
199 |
MIZORAM |
AIZAWL |
638 |
0 |
HARYANA |
BHIWANI |
193 |
195 |
MP |
SARGUJA |
605 |
10 |
UP |
JALAUN |
74 |
195 |
J&K |
RAJOURI |
603 |
8 |
UP |
KHERI |
178 |
188 |
BIHAR |
GUMLA |
602 |
0 |
HARYANA |
SONIPAT |
169 |
188 |
DELHI UT |
NORTH |
590 |
127 |
UP |
AGRA |
118 |
187 |
RAJASTHAN |
BUNDI |
572 |
50 |
UP |
SITAPUR |
205 |
184 |
MP |
BHOPAL |
565 |
63 |
MAHARASHTRA |
DHULE |
112 |
183 |
MP |
NARASINGHPUR |
561 |
77 |
UP |
MATHURA |
172 |
180 |
MIZORAM |
LUNGLEI |
557 |
0 |
MP |
GWALIOR |
421 |
176 |
MP |
CHHINDWARA |
554 |
64 |
UP |
ALIGARH |
162 |
174 |
MP |
RATLAM |
552 |
86 |
MP |
DAMOH |
513 |
170 |
MP |
SHAJAPUR |
550 |
20 |
HARYANA |
JIND |
131 |
169 |
BIHAR |
KISHANGANJ |
546 |
6 |
DELHI UT |
NORTH WEST |
406 |
168 |
MP |
DURG |
542 |
43 |
UP |
FATEHPUR |
110 |
168 |
MP |
DHAR |
531 |
64 |
MP |
SAGAR |
688 |
165 |
MP |
RAJNANDGAON |
513 |
35 |
UP |
BAREILLY |
187 |
164 |
MP |
DAMOH |
513 |
170 |
MP |
BHIND |
169 |
161 |
MP |
DEWAS |
513 |
65 |
AP |
KARIMNAGAR |
215 |
159 |
MP |
SHIVPURI |
497 |
44 |
MP |
INDORE |
244 |
155 |
MAHARASHTRA |
NAGPUR |
496 |
40 |
HARYANA |
KARNAL |
422 |
154 |
DELHI UT |
CENTRAL |
487 |
87 |
AP |
RANGA REDDY |
101 |
147 |
MP |
MANDLA |
475 |
19 |
UP |
BARABANKI |
160 |
144 |
ASSAM |
LAKHIMPUR |
470 |
0 |
DELHI UT |
NORTH EAST |
355 |
143 |
MAHARASHTRA |
GADCHIROLI |
454 |
11 |
UP |
HARDOI |
178 |
141 |
DELHI UT |
SOUTH |
452 |
110 |
HARYANA |
MAHENDRAGARH |
139 |
139 |
ASSAM |
HAILAKANDI |
444 |
12 |
MP |
HOSHANGABAD |
671 |
138 |
MP |
BETUL |
435 |
62 |
UP |
BULANDSHAHAR |
137 |
137 |
HARYANA |
KARNAL |
422 |
154 |
UP |
SHAJAHANPUR |
213 |
133 |
MP |
GWALIOR |
421 |
176 |
UP |
JAUNPUR |
36 |
132 |
J&K |
UDHAMPUR |
421 |
0 |
UP |
BADAUN |
191 |
131 |
KERALA |
WAYANADU |
419 |
27 |
BIHAR |
NALANDA |
88 |
130 |
MP |
CHHATARPUR |
416 |
81 |
MP |
MURAINA |
317 |
128 |
MAHARASHTRA |
AMRAVATI |
413 |
42 |
MP |
SATNA |
279 |
127 |
MP |
JABALPUR |
412 |
125 |
DELHI UT |
NORTH |
590 |
127 |
MP |
DATIYA |
411 |
45 |
HARYANA |
YAMUNANAGAR |
148 |
126 |
MP |
TIKAMGARH |
408 |
85 |
HARYANA |
FARIDABAD |
283 |
126 |
DELHI UT |
NORTH WEST |
406 |
168 |
MP |
JABALPUR |
412 |
125 |
ASSAM |
SIBSAGAR |
400 |
0 |
UP |
PILIBHIT |
212 |
125 |
To
recapitulate on the general crime situation in the country, it would be
worthwhile to quote the following from my previous study :
1) Madhya
Pradesh and Maharashtra registered largest number of crimes. However, rate of
crime was highest in Delhi(48000 crimes per crore of population), being at
least 150% higher than in any other state. States with low crime rates are
Lakshadweep, Punjab, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and West Bengal.
2) Rate of
total crimes against women was registered highest in Rajashtan(2106), MP(2089), Delhi(2000)
and Maharashtra(1752). It was lowest (less than 500) in Lakshdweep, Nagaland,
Punjab, Meghalaya, Goa and Bihar.
3) 4 states
with highest crime rate are also the states with higher rape rate. They are
Delhi, Rajasthan, MP, Mizoram. A state- wise graph of total crimes Vs rapes
shows a general corelation between the two. Hence increase in total crime rate
should ring alarm.
4) Punjab
having low rates for all other crimes against women has the 5th
highest dowry death rate.
5) States
having high rates for dowry death are seen to be having low female to male
ratio, particularly for 0- 6 age group as registered in the census of 2001.
6) The NCRB
must start making a separate record of organised or mass atrocities against
women. This is not done as yet.
7) In most of
the states the justice delivery is unfavourable to women victims. Conviction
rates for rapes are much below those for overall crimes.
8) The
attitude of the law enforcing agency is greatly manifested even in deciding
whether a crime will be recorded or not. Many women activists and women
commissions have noted that a large number of crimes against women just do not
get reported, partly because of the societal stigma against women but largely
because of the attitude of the police and the investigative machinery in
dealing with women victims of these crimes. The NCRB report itself states that
perhaps only one out of 10 crimes against women get recorded. One immediately
�doable� action is to ask the police to submit a report of �NC� cases, ie cases
in which before registering FIR, the police concludes that the case is not
worth registering and closes the matter. It is also necessary that people and
NGOs demand that police gives relevant documents to the complainant as
prescribed in procedure.
[1] (The author is Jt Sec to GoI working with National Commission for Women. This article is a part of her private study.)