I Think: Reporting on crimes against women has taken a backseat to politics
Sheetal Gulway, teacher, Pune
I am an NGO teacher, and I have been working with basti (slum) kids for several years now. My main aim in life has always been equal access to education for all. A large chunk of my news comes from the Marathi media such as ABP and Sakal.
With the current events in politics, reporting of crimes against women has taken a backseat. The crime rate is rather high and yet you don’t register it because there is so much politics that demands your attention.
Media channels should focus on how these cases occurred and how they can help the victim’s family. Instead, they are more concerned with their ratings. If I was a journalist I would go to any possible lengths to make sure that rapists are convicted.
Rather than rapists being jailed for their crimes, you often find that women are locked into their houses from a very young age. As a teacher, one of the things that you often notice is that girls are sent home from school when they first get their period. Because we have stigmatised periods so much even the school teachers won’t talk about it.
I have taken a different approach and talk to these young girls to help them get over their initial fears. When girls start to feel embarrassed and ashamed of every part of their life it starts to hinder their education. It is our job as educators to stop this cycle of shame.
