I am from India and I have lived in one of the major cities of India for most of my life. I agree this is a very real problem that barely gets noticed. In my op

I am from India and I have lived in one of the major cities of India for most of my life. I agree this is a very real problem that barely gets noticed. In my opinion there are various reasons for such culture - 1. Gender inequality, though there are many women breaking barriers and taking great strides in India, there is a huge population (urban and rural) that still considers women inferior to men. 2.In typical Indian culture, a son in a family is considered as the one that carries the family blood line forward where as a daughter is considered as a burden on the family. They are considered a burden on the family because the family has to pay an exorbitant dowry when the girl is married, this disgusting practice ruins lives but is unfortunately very prevalent even in rich and educated people. 3. A huge population (mostly the poor and illiterate) consider girls to be destined to do be homemakers, so education for girls is a low priority. 4. Societal pressures are enormous, many people/families of victims would wilfully push things such as harassment or rape under the rug to avoid the societal shame brought by being a victim. And, many of the few that make it through and go to the police for help are turned away or discouraged by the police to not lodge an official complaint reasoning that it would just bring about more shame to their family in the society. So, the cases that surface are just a fraction of what is actually going on. I believe these problems have always been there but just surfacing more frequently now. 5. Most Indian marriages are arranged marriages and there is a huge problem of marital harassment and rape that never makes it out. 6. The culture of arranged marriages coupled with the problem of premarital sex being a taboo in most of the country due to societal and religious reasons, mean that most men can be in their 20s or even late 20s have had very less or no interaction with the opposite sex. The lack of respect due to gender inequality adds to this problem. There is part of the population that is well educated, informed, financially sound; that do not subscribe to this culture but the truth remains that India has a huge population and most of them are very poor, there is a huge urban and rural population that are very poor, illiterate and what I spoke about here are a big part of their belief systems and culture.