President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday lamented the depravity of human nature as was evident from the Delhi gang-rape incident and said that a society which cannot provide security and dignity to its women is not worth considering a civilised one.
He said this after laying the foundation stone for ‘Nirbhaya Bhavan’, a complex to be built in the memory of 23-year-old girl who was gang-raped and brutalised on December 16, which will be the headquarters of National Commission for Women.
The President said that the barbaric acts perpetrated on women are not just a matter of law and force, but also of the society’s apathetic attitude. “Whenever a woman is subjected to violence, people around show their apathy and aloofness, it is depravity of human nature,” he said.
The President said the recent cases of violence on women indicate that we have lost our civilisational values and a society which cannot provide respect, dignity and security to its women is not worth being called a civilised society. Apparently referring to the Delhi gang-rape and other incidents of crime against women in the last few months, he said, “The recent happenings have hurt me. These show that we have lost our civilisational values.”