A woman is molested every 26 minutes in India'

March 2, 2011

Mangalore, March 2: Every 26 minutes, a woman or a girl in India is being molested, and every 34 minutes, a woman is being raped in the country, Shalip Kumari, Associate Professor at SDM College, Ujire, said here on Tuesday.

Ms. Kumari was presenting a paper on human rights and the rights of women during a seminar organised here on human rights and unorganised labour.

Quoting the latest figures put out by the South Indian Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring, Ms. Kumari said that every 42 minutes a woman was facing some form of sexual harassment, every 93 minutes a woman was burned to death or killed for failing to bring enough dowry from her parents, and every 43 minutes, a girl or woman was being kidnapped. Nearly 1.5 crore girls did not live beyond the age of 15, she said.

Among the numerous human rights violations committed against women, some of the most extreme included genital mutilation done with crude instruments such as knives and blades, to surgically alter the female genitalia in order to protect her virginity, Ms. Kumari said.

According to World Health Organisation data, genital mutilation was inflicted on more than 100 million women.

Responding to questions, Ms. Kumari said the socialisation was important to counter patriarchal values prevalent in both men and women. She said that although non-governmental organisations had done much to economically empower women, they do not take up “tougher issues” of inter-caste or inter-religious marriages because of strong social pressure.

Speaking during a panel discussion on policy suggestions on human rights and the unorganised sector, professor of social work, Rita Noronha said control of resources should be with communities and the rights of women should be with women.

“There is a need for mechanisms to listen to the voices at the margins. Don't think we have the solutions to the problems of the unorganised sector,” she said and added that there should be meetings at the district level to discuss problems affecting women.

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Campus politics: DKS pushes to restore student elections in Karnataka banned since 1989

News Network

November 26,2025

Bengaluru, Nov 26: Karnataka is taking its first concrete steps towards lifting a three-decade-old ban on student elections in colleges and universities. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced Wednesday that the state government will form a small committee to study the reintroduction of campus polls, a practice halted in 1989 following incidents of violence.

Speaking at a 'Constitution Day' event organised by the Karnataka Congress, Mr. Shivakumar underscored the move's aim: nurturing new political leadership from the grassroots.

"Recently, (Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to me and Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) asking us to think about restarting student elections," Shivakumar stated. "I'm announcing today that we'll form a small committee and seek a report on this."

Student elections were banned in Karnataka in 1989, largely due to concerns over violence and the infiltration of political party affiliates into campus life. The ban effectively extinguished vibrant student bodies and the pipeline of young leaders they often produced.

Mr. Shivakumar, who also serves as the Karnataka Congress president, said that former student leaders will be consulted to "study the pros and cons" of the re-introduction.

Acknowledging the history of the ban, he added, "There were many criminal activities taking place back then. We’ll see how we can conduct (student) elections by regulating such criminal activities."

The Deputy CM reminisced about his own journey, which began on campus. He recalled his political activism at Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College leading to his first Assembly ticket in 1985 at the age of 23. "That's how student leadership was at the time. Such leadership has gone today. College elections have stopped," he lamented, adding that for many, college elections were "like a big movement" where leaders were forged.

The move, driven by the Congress high command's push to cultivate young talent, will face scrutiny from academics and university authorities who have, in the past, expressed concern that the return of polls could disrupt the peaceful academic environment and turn campuses into political battlegrounds.

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