AFTER PREZ’S NOD TO ORDINANCE, MALIWAL ENDS HUNGER STRIKE
DCW chief says hunger strike over, but struggle for women’s safety will continue
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal ended her 10-day long hunger strike on Sunday, amid at large crowd gathered here at Rajghat.
Maliwal – whose vociferous demand for death penalty for rapists of children below the age of 12 years bore fruit after the Centre passed an ordinance for the same on Saturday – said, “I was fighting alone. But then I was supported by the people across the country. I think this is a historical victory in independent India. I congratulate everyone on this victory.”
The DCW chief had began her indefinite hunger strike on April 13 at Rajghat, which came to an end at 2.00 pm Sunday.
On Saturday, Maliwal announced that she made the decision to end her hunger strike, after the Union Cabinet approved the ordinance to award death sentence to rapists of children below 12 years of age.
“The hunger strike is over, but our struggle for women’s safety will continue,” she said.
Amid nationwide outrage over the brutal murder and gang-rape of an eight-yearold girl Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, and rape and murder of a 11-year-old in Gujarat’s Surat, the Cabinet approved a number of measures to strengthen the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the promulgation of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, for effective deterrence against the commission of rape, thereby instilling a sense of security among women and especially young girls in the country.
In an earlier letter written to the PM, Maliwal had listed out six demands, which included the passage of the ordinance, recruitment of police personnel as per the United Nations standards and fixing accountability of the police force.
As she congratulated the people for the ordinance, the DCW chairperson noted that very few protests had achieved so much in such less time, and termed the government’s decision a “historic victory” for independent India.
According to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, new fast-track courts will be set up to deal with rape cases, while special forensic kits will be provided to all police stations and hospitals in the long run. It also stipulates stringent punishment for perpetrators of rape, particularly of girls below 12 and 16 years of age.
Death sentence has been provided for rapists of girls under 12 years, officials said while quoting the ordinance.
The minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of seven years to 10 years, extendable to life imprisonment, they said.