Crimes against women: Families need to raise boys differently, says Delhi minister

Blaming lack of sensitisation and social responsibility for increasing crimes against women, Delhi minister Kiran Walia today said rather than telling girls what to wear, it is the need of the hour that families be told to bring up boys differently.

"We need to bring up boys differently in our homes. Boys need to be made sensitive right from school. We need to tell them right from the start that being macho is about being cultured and treating women equally," Walia said.

Asked to comment on what she thought about suggestions that women wearing Western clothes provoke assaults, Walia said this was an absurd idea, and men cannot lose control just because a woman is wearing a western outfit.

"What will such men do if they visit a western country? Go crazy? Where is our maturity? And we have witnessed assaults against women of all kinds and ages. I don't subscribe to this," she told reporters in an interaction here.

"Law is an important instrument for transformation, but not the complete solution," she said.

Commenting on the issue of changing the rape law to make it more stringent with higher penalty, Walia said she was not much hopeful that this would bring a radical difference till the rate of convictions remained abysmally low.

he also said that only increasing the intensity of punishment would not bring much change unless quick redressal mechanisms were introduced.

Regretting there was only partial adoption of modernity in society, Walia said the new generation must also shed bad practises of the past such as dowry if they want to be seen as progressive and modernised.

The Minister for Health and Family Welfare also said that police needs to be made more accountable and should be seen as pro-victim rather than pro-accused to lend confidence to the people.

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