L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Change attitude towards women

Apropos the article “Protest for a pause” by Mallika Kaur (January 6), crimes of all kinds have been prevalent since time immemorial. However, the crimes against women in India have increased twofold due to biased attitudes, bad governance and a patriarchal system. The out-dated and slow judicial process and an insensitive police are the reasons why women in India are unsafe. You cannot instantly cure culture to end this gender violence.

The youth, who reacted strongly to the Delhi gangrape, were not led by any political party. This portents to a change in the air and has forced our politicians to sit up and take notice. There is a dire need to change the law and ensure time bound disposal of rape cases by fast track courts. The police needs to be sensitised in handling rape victims and the society has to change its attitude towards women.

CAPT AMAR JEET KUMAR, Mohali

II

The item songs in our cinema are an insult to our society. They objectify women and mislead youngsters into thinking the same. The entertainment industry should try to keep this in mind. To improve safety for women, films should be monitored more closely and censored if they do not toe the line.

Senior citizens are mute spectators due to lawlessness everywhere. The police which is highly politicised has become toothless. We do not need to spend large amounts of money in making the streets safe for women and the elderly. If we can stop objectifying women and make the police more accountable, half the battle will be won.

RK KOHLI, Karnal

III

The Supreme Court judgement on banning the use of tinted glasses on vehicles should be implemented in totality. This shall help in preventing crimes like the recent gangrape on a private bus in Delhi. The bus had tinted glasses. The owners of the vehicles with tinted glasses should be heavily penalised. Politicians too must not be allowed to have tinted glasses on their vehicles in order to set an example for others. Vehicles with such glasses help criminals escape from the public eye and avoid getting caught.

HARTAJ SINGH, Amritsar

CBSE move admirable

The CBSE’s move to introduce a subject on gender sensitivity and human rights awareness in the school curriculum is praiseworthy. It should be termed as Guidance and Counselling. From the age of 13, children are heavily influenced by multimedia and need to be sensitised on gender differences. These will definitely be   stepping stones in making our society more equal.

KULWINDER  KAUR, Bathinda Cant

Safer drug trials

Pharmaceutical industry has become a powerful industry, driven only by profit (“Testing ethics” on January 5). The MNCs conduct clinical trials of new drugs on the poor and the underprivileged for a meager amount of money.

Since the cost of testing in India is 80 per cent less than in the developed world, firms test their products here. Most of all, the drugs tested are not even sold here. Equally shocking is the fact that the rules, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, are in favour of the trial investigator as the reason he attributes to the death of a subject is not questioned. This is resulting in gross under-reporting of actual deaths during clinical trials.

When six tribal girls from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh involved in the clinical trials of anti-cervical cancer HPV vaccine died, the government for the first time admitted that 1,725 people had died due to drug trials in the last four years.

There is a need to adopt safety standards in drug trials so that Indian subjects are not treated like laboratory animals. The rules should be framed such that firms will only be able to undertake clinical trials if they sell the drug in India at affordable prices.

HARISH K MONGA, Gurgaon