India and China both have a surplus of males, but only one country has an out-of-control rape epidemic.
On Feb. 23, 2016, an Indian woman, within hours of giving birth by C-section, was raped in a hospital near New Delhi. Some in India took consolation in the fact that at least she was not, like Nirbhaya—the 23-year-old female physiotherapy intern—beaten up after being raped.
A few days later, on March 8, 2016, on Women’s Day, a 15-year-old girl was raped and set on fire.
For those who don’t remember, in December 2012, Nirbhaya was beaten with iron rods, gang-raped, and tortured in a private bus while she was travelling with her boyfriend. As a result of an international outrage over her assault and subsequent death, new laws and new fast-track courts were promised. More women are now willing to report rape cases. But even two years after Nirbhaya, her father claims that the promises of reform were unmet, and that justice in India has failed his daughter and women like her.
Indeed, Amnesty International reports that authorities have not effectively implemented new laws on crimes against women. The majority of rape cases still go unreported. In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s India, the problem, instead of abating, has become worse:
In India a women is reportedly raped every 15 minutes. Multiply that by 24x7, 365 days a year. And keep in mind the majority of rape cases still go unreported. The statistics on crime against women is even worse: Every 2 minutes, a women in India is a victim of a crime. This ongoing issue with violence against women raises the real and serious question of whether India is truly ready for a seat on the global table.
One explanation for the ongoing rape problem is the skewed sex ratio. Like China, India has a massive imbalance in its sex ratio. According to the Indian census, the sex ratio in the 6 and below age group has risen from 102.4 males per 100 females in 1961 (the Liberal Nehru days) to 108.9 in 2011 (the Fiery Hindutva Ideology days). In Gujarat, Indian PM Modi’s home state, the sex ratio is 112 to 100.
Economists and sociologists call this the Bare Branches phenomenon, a result of female feticide over a very long period of time. It is an issue that India shares with its massive neighbor, China, where boy babies are also culturally preferred over girls. Independent studies out of MIT and Columbia University have postulated that these Bare Branches—males with a snowball’s chance in hell of finding a female companion—threaten domestic stability and international security.
And yet, the surplus of males in China doesn’t appear to be leading to a rape crisis there. In fact, research has found that while China has seen an uptick in general violence due to the Bare Branches, they actually tend to behave gently around women. No such correlation was found in India.
Why this shocking disparity?
A simple answer points to the Indian caste system. There is an expression in India that “bringing up a daughter is like watering a neighbor’s plant.” India places women lower than men. There is a total and complete disrespect for women in Indian religious scriptures.
The Mahabharata, Book 13 Section 40 (13.40), states, “There is no creature more sinful, than woman. She is poison, she is snake.” Other texts say that “Women are living lies.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/whats-...as-rape-crisis