Friends, Some time back, in the heart of the city, two salesmen had raped a 23 year old girl in Palika Bazaar. The girl was buying some clothes in their store. In another incident, a school student was gangraped by her classmate and his friends in a photo studio where they had gone to take photographs for their examination forms. Girija Vyas had asked the government to come out with much more determination and urgency to check the indecent behavior against women. It is indeed a shame that a city governed by women is not in a position to provide safety to its women! The most embarrassing fact for us Delhites is that even elderly women are subject to sexual abuses and misbehavior, here.
In order to make Delhi safer, serious law reforms are needed. Planners, administrators, and law enforcement agencies need to work together towards this objective. Efficiency and diligence of those involved in the safety system are extremely important. If those working in the system turn out to be callous and casual, then the already bleak picture turns bleaker. The Delhi traffic police constable, who was charged with the rape of a minor, was a terrible example. The means and mode of policing in Delhi have large rooms for improvement! There is a theory that such incidents could be arrested if women are trained and educated.
Training and education of women are not sufficient to combat abuse and misbehavior against women. I don’t think Delhi has a lower percentage of educated and confident women compared to the rest of the country. Awareness needs to be raised in order to make Delhi safe for its women. The women and gender rights advocates also agree with this. They opine that raising awareness in the communities where we live is essential. Violence against and insult of the weaker sex brings out the male-dominated attitude of our society where abuse of women is thought as the normal custom. Do you agree?
I agree with you Anandi. I found there are reasons to be hopeful and thought of sharing them with you. The parliament was informed in the last week of November 2009 that there was a decrease in cases of crime against women in the national capital in 2009 as compared to the previous year. According to the information that the Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran provided in the Rajya Sabha, 414 rape cases, 492 molestation cases and 222 harassment cases have been registered in Delhi till November 15. The period from January to November 15 in 2008 had registered 440 cases of rape, 558 cases of molestation and 296 cases of harassment.
Indian cricketer, Virender Sehwag has become a goodwill ambassador of CEQUIN, a Non Governmental Organisation, which works for the safety of women in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City>. Sehwag spoke on the occasion, praising the organization for its dedicated services. "It is the responsibility of the citizens to take serious action if they come across any case of harassment done to a girl. I hope that in the times to come, we are able to create enough awareness about this issue which would help make the women feel safe,” Sehwag said. The cricketer has also stressed on the responsibility of the citizens to ensure that the tourists feel secure in <st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City> during the Commonwealth Games.
A recent survey has portrayed how gloomy the picture is for <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City> women. It says 97 per cent women in <st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City> feel unsafe while a meager 20 per cent trust the police. Such a survey report, just before the Commonwealth Games, has cemented the general perception that <st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City> is extremely unsafe for women and not many have faith in the police’s ability to take care of them in times of crisis. Jaya talks about CEQUIN in the previous post. CEQUIN stands for Centre for Equality and Inclusion. In a survey report, CEQUIN says, Chandi Chowk, <st1:Street><st1:address>Connaught Place</st1:address></st1:Street> and Karol Bagh, the most crowded places of <st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City>, are the most unsafe areas for women.
Amrita, the survey reveals that buses are the most unsafe modes of transport in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City>, for women. The survey says over 98 percent of women in <st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City> had experienced some kind of harassment, while 36 per cent had experienced harassment “occasionally”. 19 per cent of women are reported to experience harassment “very often” while six per cent had experienced it “daily”. The picture became gloomier when the survey report said that 88 per cent of women had emphasized that a harassed woman is “rarely or never” assisted by the public. 95 per cent of the respondents had said that they prefer remaining indoors in fear of being harassed.
Thanks for the spirited discussion. What I feel is that there is an ardent dearth of social awareness towards respect for woman in Delhi. In a society, which fiercely battles for 'honor' leading to incidents like honor killings, women are subjected to sexual misbehavior and assault. Where are those men who can go to any limit to secure the 'honor' of their family, if a girl child treads the 'untrodden' path against their wishes. Is their 'honor for women' biased? I believe, it it women who have to do their own self defense. Family, society and administration should make it mandatory to include martial arts like Judo, Karate, Taekwondo in basic education. How many of you support this? Would love to know your views.
Hi friends, I am new to this forum. I have been looking for a way to talk openly about the bad conditions women have to face in India. Every day we have men making passes at us, you read in the paper about men raping women every day. It is a big shame. My friend was going home on monday night and 3 men in a tavera started following her car. She tried to drive fast but they stayed behind her. Then she dialled her husband who didn't answer. She remembered she had this thing on her phone--so she called it. 55100. It is some sort of emergency alert that goes to multiple people. Her sister, brother in law, husband, son, father and daughter all got her alert. It also told them where she was and that she was in need of help. As a result, she got an immediate call from her brother in law who came to help her within a few minutes. Her sister called the police and alerted them. Her son called her and showed up with her father. She stopped her car on the side of the road and when the men who were following her saw all these people with her, they drove away. She gave the police their car number. I am so happy my friend is safe. This alert service is amazing according to her. Sadly only Airtel people in India can get it right now, but I hope this will come to other providers too. But the family members she added are not all on Airtel--which means you have to be on Airtel to subscribe but you can add anyone from any provider. I asked her what it is called-- 55100 Airtel Emergency Alerts. They also have other features which look VERY cool. I got it for myself and have been telling all my friends about it. This place is unsafe and women like us need the tools to make ourselves safe. If you want to sign up, on Airtel, just send an sms with the word START to 55100. You can add maximum ten numbers of family and friends to your group who will get your alerts. It was pretty straightforward to sign up. And not expensive which is nice--only 1 rupee per day. They say all the calls, sms'es and alerts are tollfree and work across the country no additional charges. Anyway sisters, I hope you find this information useful. I don't work for Airtel and I'm not trying to push a product. But I live in a reality that is VERY unsafe and if I can help my fellow sisters to be safe, then it is worth it. Consider this my recommendation for a must-have! Peace and love to everyone. S1979S
