The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has asked for the accused in the Kolkata rape case to be hanged within a week. A performative statement that reflects our casual attitude to crimes against women, besides promoting a brazen disregard for the law of the land.

On the 75th anniversary of the Indian independence day, two years ago, the Narendra Modi government released the men accused of gang-raping Bilkis Bano, the face of the Gujarat anti-Muslim riots. In between these high-profile cases are the thousands of women in India whose stories of brutality never make it to our front pages.

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