Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government tabled data in the state assembly this July revealing that over 31,000 women and girls went missing in the state over the last three years, between July 1, 2021 and May 31, 2024. Of the total number, 28,857 are women and 2,944 are girls. The state had answered this question in response to the query raised by Congress MLA and former state home minister Bala Bachchan.
Notably, the Madhya Pradesh government has constantly demonstrated its long-standing commitment to women’s empowerment and safety — from the Ladli Laxmi Yojana in 2006, Beti Bachao Abhiyan in 2011 to Ladli Behna Yojna in 2023 — former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan became popular as “Mama (uncle)” for introducing an array of such welfare schemes aimed at women in his nearly two-decade-long rule.
The government also raised the budget for the Women and Child Development Department from Rs 14,686 crore in the last fiscal to Rs 26,560 for the financial year 2024-2025. The recent revelation of missing women in Madhya Pradesh, however, starkly contrasts the claims of women’s safety by the state government highlighting a serious gap between policy and reality.
In a conversation with The Wire, Bachchan underlined that women and girls are not at all safe in Madhya Pradesh, and the government has failed to provide them protection. He mentioned that he has recently helped a parent “rescue” their daughter from “falling into a trap”. In this case, the girl was being taken to Kolkata. She was stopped at the Indore airport when Bachchan called the authorities at the terminal.
“These figures come directly from the government, and they’re not even registering FIRs for every case which means that all claims of women’s safety are hollow. These numbers only reflect registered cases. Many cases go unregistered,” Bachchan said.
He added: “The government hides the data, which means the actual number could be much higher. The reported figures are meagre; only one in ten cases that reach the police station gets registered, and that too often requires significant influence. This should not be happening. It’s deplorable.”
Bachchan noted that as a former home minister, he also has to “make calls to get cases registered”. “Not everyone has that kind of access. Who listens when there is no government backing? People live in fear of the khaki uniforms in police stations as they misbehave and threaten them. Who will dare to fight the police to register a complaint?”
Although a significant number of women and girls have gone missing in the state, only 724 cases have been officially registered. In Ujjain alone, 676 women went missing in the past 34 months, yet not a single case has been registered.
Indore has the highest number of missing women, with a staggering 2,384 cases, including 479 in just one month, yet only 15 cases have been officially registered. Additionally, Sagar district reports the highest number of missing girls, with 245 cases.
Bachchan said that the government has provided minimal data because they fear it would tarnish their image. “Nobody will dare to speak against the government as the home ministry lies under the chief minister. The data is available, what matters now is the steps taken to resolve the issue.”
“This is a racket where people profit from trafficking women and girls to different states. Most of these missing women come from weaker sections of society who lack resources and knowledge. Hence, fall victim to such schemes. It is a troubling nexus,” Bachchan added.
Ignoring the real crisis
Madhya Pradesh became the first state to make the controversial movie The Kerala Story tax-free when it was released in May 2023. The movie made headlines before its release for claiming that approximately 32,000 women in Kerala were converted to Islam and many were taken to ISIS-ruled Syria during the terror group’s peak. The Supreme Court of India amidst controversy had asked the makers to ensure that the film carries a disclaimer that the movie is fictionalised with no data to back its claim.
Despite this, former chief minister Chouhan promoted the movie encouraging everyone to watch it as it exposes “Love Jihad”, religious conversion, and the hideous face of terrorism. “We won’t let Madhya Pradesh become another Kerala Story,” Chouhan had stated.
Astonishingly, the newly formed Mohan Yadav government keeps mum on the real 31,000 girls and women missing in Madhya Pradesh.
Activist Rachna Dhingra highlighted that 31,000 girls and women are missing “is not a small number”.
“Yet, it barely made any headlines or caught media attention. Such a significant issue should have sparked widespread protests to hold the government accountable. The government’s policies have made no difference in women’s safety. Madhya Pradesh ranked among the highest in violence against women. The argument that these numbers exist because crimes are being recorded falls flat, as there is no decrease in crimes against women,” Dhingra noted.
In 2022, Uttar Pradesh registered the highest number of FIRs for crimes against women at 65,743, followed by Maharashtra (45,331), Rajasthan (45,058), West Bengal (34,738), and MadhyaPradesh (32,765). These five states accounted for 50.2% of the total cases in India, according to the NCRB.
Alarming statistics on women and child safety
As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2022 data, nearly two lakh women and girls were missing in Madhya Pradesh between 2019 and 2021. This is the highest in any state across the country.
Notably, a Right to Information (RTI) report gathered by Child Rights And You (CRY) NGO said that 32 children went missing every day in Madhya Pradesh in 2022, of which 24 were girls (75%).
Data obtained from the Press Information Bureau (PIB) website.
Bachchan pointed out that the government must be “ashamed” if “our women go to find work and disappear” after being entrapped. “The women should not be that compelled. Those sitting in government and talking about Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas must introspect and provide them employment.”
He added: “The area I come from is a remote tribal region with a very dire situation in terms of women’s safety. That’s why I raised this question; it was necessary. We are in direct contact with the people and have received feedback on such cases.”
Also read: How India’s Emerging Legal Framework Impacts Women’s Rights and Agency
In 2022, Madhya Pradesh ranked third in the nation with 3,046 cases of rape and gang rape. Rajasthan topped the list with 5,408 cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 3,692 cases; 22 women in Madhya Pradesh faced attempted rape, of which three were minors.
Additionally, Madhya Pradesh ranked third nationally for cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, child rape (379 of IPC) and sexual assault (354 of IPC), and sexual harassment under the POCSO Act (509 IPC) with 5,951 incidents. These included 3,653 cases of rape, 2,233 cases of sexual assault, and 42 cases of harassment.
Women’s safety and the saviour government
Arti Sharma of the All India Mahila Sanskritik Sangathan (AIMSS) said that it is concerning for society and the government which claims to be the “saviour of women”. Further, she underlined that while the Madhya Pradesh government campaigned vigorously for women’s rights, it failed to follow up their rhetoric with meaningful action to empower women. “They targeted a particular community in the name of women’s safety using anti-conversion law and propaganda movie The Kerala Story. It created an atmosphere that women are unsafe because of men from a specific community. In reality, women of all communities are unsafe. Have these succeeded in protecting women?” posed Sharma.
The Madhya Pradesh government has legislated the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act 2021, often referred to as the “Love Jihad” law. The act prohibits and penalises forceful religious conversion under the pretext of marriage and was brought to protect women. In several instances, interfaith couples (Hindu women and Muslim men) have been subjected to harassment by individuals associated with Hindutva outfits. The law has been widely criticised for playing with women’s agency and patronising them.
Huneza Khan is an independent journalist based in Bhopal.
