-The Hindustan Times Enacted in 1958 to deal with the Naga uprising in the then composite state of Assam, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was reviewed by the Justice BP Jeevan Reddy Committee in 2005, which recommended that it be scrapped.   The Reddy report remains untabled in Parliament, despite the recent outcry, triggered by the Justice Verma Committee’s view that the Act needs to be reviewed (in the light...

-The Hindustan Times Racing against time to meet the March 22 deadline for getting Parliament’s nod on its tougher anti-rape bill replacing the existing ordinance, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called a special cabinet meeting on Tuesday to approve the proposed legislation. On a day when Congress chief Sonia Gandhi promised a quick passage of the bill and said crimes against women make “our heads hang in shame”, the government went into...

-The Hindu Until we embrace the idea of consent in all relationships, including marriage, there can be no gender equality. Its absence makes discussions on sexual abuse meaningless The man who was my abuser was a fine host, a good husband, a caring father, a respected elder whose generosity and kindness were as genuine as the fact of the abuse. These qualities were important, because they helped him conceal the abuse he...

-The Hindu The House must ensure that the new Bill to replace the Criminal Law Ordinance consciously upholds the provisions and spirit of the Verma Committee report A brave young woman died a brutal death in the heart of the nation’s capital. And Parliament must speak. Today. Tomorrow. Or, the day after. But speak it must. And in a unified voice of conviction and certitude, rising above the cacophony of political difference...

-The Hindustan Times The government seems to have tied itself in a knot over its proposed move to reduce the age of consent for sex from 18 to 16 years in the new criminal laws (amendment) bill that will replace the February 3 ordinance on rape laws. The draft bill incorporating the fresh changes is likely to come up for cabinet approval this week. Sources said the women and child development (WCD) ministry...