The State has failed to make our streets safe for women. But it is when young schoolgirls learn in a horrific way that their gender is the biggest impediment to their freedom that one begins to gauge how depraved our society has become. The rape of students by two teachers of a government school in Haryana — allegedly in connivance with several other teachers — calls for nothing less than the highest form of punishment. For when such violence is allowed to be unleashed inside schools, the message sent out to impressionable minds is that rape is normal and acceptable.
The incident in Haryana is no singular anomaly. A teacher accused of rape in Ahmedabad earlier this week and a Delhi school principal arrested on charges of raping a 16-year-old student last year are just a few against whom victims have spoken up. The government must wake up to the implications of this appalling situation. In India, equitable education for all is a distant goal, with girls being particularly deprived. The central government may have flinched at the damning criticism in Unesco’s Global Monitoring Report 2006 on Education For All. But it must now pay heed to the growing insecurity thriving within our schools that could further damage any prospect of achieving the Dakar goal of universal primary education by 2015.
Till now, the main reasons behind the poor enrolment — and high drop-out rate — of girl students in schools have been poverty, child labour and societal norms that lay out a woman’s position within the house. There will now be fewer parents willing to risk sending their daughters to school if the government fails to impart confidence that the safety of their children will be given the highest priority. The number of female students in the unfortunate school in the Haryana village has nosedived. It would be a pity if this is replicated throughout the country.
{{/usCountry}}Till now, the main reasons behind the poor enrolment — and high drop-out rate — of girl students in schools have been poverty, child labour and societal norms that lay out a woman’s position within the house. There will now be fewer parents willing to risk sending their daughters to school if the government fails to impart confidence that the safety of their children will be given the highest priority. The number of female students in the unfortunate school in the Haryana village has nosedived. It would be a pity if this is replicated throughout the country.
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