India’s Shame: Crimes Against Women Keep Rising While Justice Remains Out of Reach
India is a country that never stops talking about “Nari Shakti” (women’s power). Politicians invoke the goddess, social media celebrates women achievers, and governments launch schemes with grand promises of safety and empowerment.
Yet, behind the slogans and headlines lies a brutal truth — India continues to fail its women every single day.
The latest NCRB data for 2023 lays bare a reality that should shake the conscience of this nation. Close to 4.5 lakh crimes against women were recorded last year, slightly higher than in 2022 and 2021.
The increase may look “marginal” on paper, but each of those 4,48,211 cases is not a number — it is a woman whose dignity, safety, or life was violated.
The Brutality in Numbers
- Highest crime category: Cruelty by husband or relatives – 1,33,676 cases
- Kidnapping & abduction: 88,605 cases
- Rape: 29,670 cases (more than 80 women raped every single day)
- Dowry deaths: 6,156 cases (17 women die every day for dowry)
- Acid attacks: 113 cases – a reminder that medieval barbarity is alive in modern India
Among states, Uttar Pradesh tops the chart in absolute cases, while Telangana has the worst crime rate. No state is safe. No city can claim immunity.
Justice That Never Arrives
Yes, the chargesheeting rate was a decent 77.6%. But then comes the unforgivable fact — over 90% of these cases are pending in courts. Imagine the despair of a woman who dares to report her trauma, only to be told that her case will drag on for decades.
Justice delayed is justice denied, but in India, justice is not just delayed — it is deliberately smothered.
The Silence Beyond the Numbers
And these figures, horrifying as they are, represent only those cases that made it to police records. What about the crimes buried in silence?
- Women are persuaded by their own parents not to complain, fearing stigma and police harassment.
- Victims know that stepping into a police station means stepping into another form of humiliation.
- Survivors weigh their chances and often conclude: “Better to suffer quietly than fight a system designed to break you.”
This silence is not accidental — it is manufactured by a society that would rather protect its “honor” than its daughters.
Where Does the Blame Lie?
The blame lies everywhere:
- With the police, whose insensitivity still makes women hesitant to approach them.
- With the courts, where pendency is so high that legal recourse is a cruel joke.
- The political class announces schemes and safety funds with fanfare, but fails to ensure implementation.
- With families and society, who silence women to preserve their reputation, instead of encouraging them to fight back.
India’s women are not unsafe because of just “criminals.” They are unsafe because of a system that shields criminals and punishes survivors.
What Must Change
The way forward is clear, but the will is missing:
- Police reforms: Women-friendly police stations, accountability for insensitive officers.
- Fast-track courts: No crime against women should linger in court for decades.
- Social change: Families must stop silencing survivors in the name of honor.
- Zero tolerance politics: Stop treating crimes against women as mere statistics and start treating them as national emergencies.
Until this nation confronts its hypocrisy — worshipping goddesses while abandoning real women — the NCRB report will remain an annual document of shame. And next year, the numbers will only rise again.
#IndiaFailsWomen #NCRB2023 #JusticeDenied #WomenSafetyCrisis #StopGenderViolence #DomesticAbuse #EndDowryDeaths #RapeCulture #FastTrackJusticeNow #ShameNotPride
