Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel recently expressed concern about the plight of children born out of wedlock and subsequently abandoned.As UP heads for assembly polls, Anandiben Patel’s concerns over abandoned children spotlight rape, women’s safety, consent education and justice.Speaking at the convocation ceremony of APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, Patel said: “Kabhi kabhi ladke ladkiyan bhag jaate hain…koi pregnant hokar pakda jata hai…bachhe ko koi sweekaar nahin karta…uska maa, baap kaun? Sarkar? (Children often elope when their parents oppose relationships, girls get pregnant and their children are left for the government to take care as neither parents nor in-laws accept abandoned mothers and children).”This issue is of prime concern and the governor must have based her statement on data accessible to her regarding ‘abandoned kids, born out of wedlock, under government care,’ though no government data is available in the public domain.Patel’s disconcerting words brought focus on the rising cases of sexual assault as children born by coercive physical acts are often also abandoned on the streets.Her statement comes against the backdrop of protests in Meerut in western UP over the murder of a 20-year-old Dalit student and the subsequent police excesses against the protestors. The victim’s family alleged she was raped and murdered; the Meerut police have not verified the sexual assault charges.Meerut is in a region where the BJP’s slogan of “love Jihad” (pertaining to Muslim men allegedly marrying Hindu women to convert them) paid electoral dividends to the party even though sexual assaults and punishment for rapists hardly figure in any political party’s agenda.The Meerut crime sparked a war of words between Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati and Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief Chandrashekhar Azad, the two claimants to the support of Jatavs, a sub-caste of Dalits to which both belong. Mayawati suggested protesters should take legal recourse while Azad supported street protests to get justice. The Samajwadi Party (SP) national president, Akhilesh Yadav, who frequently raises issues related to the Dalit community, met the family members in Delhi.Fast-track courts for quick conviction have clearly not served as a deterrent. According to official data, as many as 2064 accused have been convicted since July 7, 2023. The total identified cases were 5618. A state government spokesperson said: “Since 2017, (when Yogi Adityanath became CM) till April 26,2026, as many as 33,159 were convicted in cases of crime against women and adolescents, 4,655 convicted in cases of sexual assault, while another 14886 were convicted under the POCSO Act”.The way forwardWhile some observers advocate the death penalty for convicts of heinous sexual crimes, political parties have failed to even incorporate the issue of increasing sexual assault in their poll manifestos.A political analyst said, “People vote for their religion, caste and dole. As elections are not decided by social and gender issues, politicians lose interest as these issues have no appeal. Even vote for ration and not their protection.”Until punishment for rapists is made a poll agenda, nothing will change even after the implementation of the 33% quota for women in state assemblies and Parliament. Women empowerment slogans will sound vacuous to vulnerable women and victims.In the 2022 assembly polls, for example, the Congress had fielded Asha Singh from Unnao Sadar assembly constituency. Singh was the mother of Unnao rape survivor, whose grit and determination, led to the conviction of then powerful BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar. Eventually, caste played a pivotal role in deciding the elections.A ray of hope.Sex education in schools could be a beginning, a way forward.The UP government recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Study Hall Education Foundation, the first to launch the ‘Sex Relationships and Society: A Comprehensive Sexuality Education Curriculum’ in line with the new National Education Policy 2020 in their schools. The gender curriculum will be implemented in government schools after the completion of ongoing teachers’ training.Designed by Zarine Garcia, a certified fertility awareness educator and founder of Pad and Prejudice, and educator Urvashi Sahni, the curriculum focuses on open conversations on gender, relationship and consent since early classes.Sex education, despite being a slow process, would help the students navigate sexual issues. But how would it help check sexual assaults? It is time for political parties to arrive at a consensus on a life term, if not the death penalty for heinous sexual crimes.The assembly elections are around the corner and the people demand the governor’s intervention- an all-party meeting could perhaps be held to discuss the issue that touches Patel’s heart too.