Senior criminal lawyer Udit Sarkar addresses students. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, Aug. 6: Human rights students of Jamshedpur Women’s College got an opportunity to interact with senior criminal lawyer of the city Udit Sarkar today.

Sarkar visited the college to attend a seminar hosted by Jamshedpur Women’s College on “discrimination and violence against children and women”.

The seminar was organised to make students aware about the importance of human rights.

“There is no discrimination between the two genders according to the law but it is society that creates the difference because most women do not protest. If they protest, the law will always be there to guide and protect them,” said Sarkar during the seminar.

“There are so many working women and many a times they are victims of exploitation at their work place. They do not come up with it due to lack of knowledge or protection. No external body can help them if they cannot help themselves,” he said.

Sarkar discussed some of the constitutional laws in detail. Eve-teasing, female trafficking and foeticide were also discussed. “There is no law against eve-teasing. The government has just set some guidelines therefore people bother less,” he said.

Students were shocked to know that almost 90 per cent of rape cases in India are not reported as the victims are afraid of the court processes, media and sometimes ashamed to come out in the open.

He also enlightened students about the new court procedures and how they can motivate people to ask for justice.

“There are no more public trials of a rape case. Separate cabins have been created for rape cases. Special provision has been made to draw a screen between the victim and the accused so that there is no eye contact between the two persons. It is seen that when there is eye contact, the victims are afraid to give their statement or sometimes the accused terrorise them. One needs to be educated and make use of his/her rights,” he said.