Are Our Cities Safe For Women.....

Discussion in 'News & Politics' started by arlette, Jan 11, 2008.

  1. arlette

    arlette New IL'ite

    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Gender:
    Female
    Are our cities safe for women?? Well, today women are under constant fear of being harassed and stalked by perverts. There are sexual harassment faced by the women, children and even kids, safety is a distance word in today’s world.

    The level of atrocities against women is an indicator of the openness of society. Sexual harassment and immoral trafficking are high specially in suppressed societies, whereas it is less in fully-evolved metros. Women, particularly single women, would happily testify that as far as Indian cities go Mumbai makes them feel exceptionally easy at most times of the day or night (and specially the latter). The public transport system works efficiently, women can roam around freely till fairly late, and they can stay in hostels or as paying guests without too much of a problem. It isn’t as though eve teasing doesn’t exist. Take a walk down any of our railway stations or try getting into a crowded bus and you can be rest assured there will be unwarranted attention and intrusion by way of a Johnny who tries to get too close for comfort. But most women have developed a defense mechanism by which they know how to deal with this.
    I for one would always feel safe in Mumbai, however after the horrifying incident in Dec 2006; I would say that the city is getting notoriously unsafe for women. The woman was stripped and molested in full public view by an unruly mob at the Gateway of India. Is this what our cities are coming to now???? I was shaken up by this incident as I happened to be in Mumbai at that particular time, and now I wonder whether Mumbai is still the safest city for women, as it was famously known.
    What is important to understand is that peace and tranquility in cities is never appreciated until it has vanished. There is a perception that cities, which are presently safe, will continue to be safe, and that some invisible factor maintains that equilibrium. This is a myth, and the gradual increase in crime, violence and destruction of cities in India and all around the world bears testimony to the present fragile calm.
    The issue of violence brings them into the centre. The focus of this presentation is to explore a very simple phase…." What works for women and children works for society." If women and children cutting across class and religion feel safe in cities, then those cities are safe. This is like a litmus test.
    Most of the cities have changed from bad to worse. There is a lack of will among law-enforcing agencies to enforce rules. This has rendered the city comparatively unsafe, it is the parents who have to instill the right sense and teach their children how to tackle difficult situations for their own safety. Violence against women is prevalent everywhere in this country. There are law enforcement agencies to prevent such crimes against women but they alone will not be able to solve this scourge. The people’s cooperation is crucial in eradicating this menace. I believe that unless people come forward in rooting out such social evils, only law enforcing agencies will not do. And when the people are active in their drive against the crimes, the Police cannot remain a mute spectator though they are supposed to be the protectors of the citizens. They will be forced to dispense their bounden duties
    Youths should be motivated to take social responsibility and protecting the children and women…this is the need of the hour. Parents should monitor children up to adolescent age and elders should set examples and youths to follow. Everyone thinks of changing the society. No one thinks of changing oneself. If we all abide by the rules, then I think the women in our cities shall be safer.
    Recently, we witnessed gruesome and disgraceful incident by the Rajasthan youth who had gone to Jaipur to answer a test for the post of police constables. These boys molested the girls from Goa Home Science College who had gone on a tour of North India. it was a harrowing experience for the Goan girls as they had never dreamt that their tour would end up this way. Imagine the future would-be cops caught in such scandalous offence.
    Can we say that our children are safe in these times; I for one feel that no city can be called to be safe for our children with each passing day, as we hear time and again about the alarming atrocious on women and children.
    Also, the horrific stripping and abuse of an Adivasi woman in Assam. This is the most inhuman attack I have seen in my life where a woman is stripped on the streets of a state capital. I fail to understand how such barbaric incidents can ever happen, it is indeed beyond my imagination.
    In all these circumstances, I would definitely worry for our daughter’s safety as they are more vulnerable; however I pray that all our daughters may be well where ever they are at schools, working etc. Another most important point to be noted is that our daughters should maintain their dress code so as not to excite the maniacs around them, keep it modest to avoid sexual harassment. Any dress, for that matter, can be worn both decently and indecently. The mode of dress has nothing to do with decency, but the mode of wearing it has something to do with it! I wonder whether decently dressed girls are spared by them! There are many incidents when our women and daughters who are dressed decently are the victims of molestation and rape. Some men are born as such and girls wearing indecently revealing dresses would only be attracting their attention as well as that of even decent men making them also cast furtive glances. This would be the worst damage a woman could be doing to men in general and to herself in particular. Let us not make even decent men indecent by wearing indecorous dresses and T-shirts with obscene wordings, if we need to make our cities safe for our women and children, in our already unsafe cities.- Arlette
     
    Loading...

  2. Sumathy

    Sumathy Senior IL'ite

    Messages:
    137
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear Arlette

    Very timely post indeed. Today, when i browsed the google news, i picked up 5 different instances of molestation/rape across India. Fundamentally, the society should start respecting women at all levels of the society, I feel.

    Cheers
    Sumathy
     
  3. roopadadia

    roopadadia Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,783
    Likes Received:
    57
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Gender:
    Female
    I agree with Sumathy, that this is a very timely post. As of today no city in India can be called safe...including Mumbai.

    The current vibrations are so negative, that even a father dosen't hesitate to rape his own daughter...then what to talk about others.

    Teach daughters the art of self defence and to dress decently. Also keep a check on their behaviour and actions when they are out of the house. Make them understand in a friendly the pros and cons of whatever they are asked to do or not do.

    Don't enforce anything on them then they will rebel. The same way also teach your sons to respect the fair gender.

    I can go on and on on this ...but will stop here now.

    Roopa.
     
  4. Sumeru

    Sumeru New IL'ite

    Messages:
    96
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Gender:
    Female
    I cant help wondering what is the reason behind men behaving like hooligans on this range. Everyone is born in a family with different ladies like mother, sister, etc. Then how can they behave like animals with other ladies. Rant

    No person will change for the better unless the decision comes from himself. We can only hope that parents bring up their children with good culture, educate them with decent concepts and help them be responsible individuals. Somewhere down the line, I feel that lack of proper education is also one of the large contributors.

    Till then, women are left with no other safety measures other than caution, self protection, etc.
     
  5. IndusGuy

    IndusGuy New IL'ite

    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Gender:
    Male
    The cities are not safe for men so forget about women.
     
  6. dadada

    dadada New IL'ite

    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Gender:
    Male
    hello everyone,
    i had always been concern of this matter since the days i used to study in india, dehradun. i live in thailand, was born here, but my everythng else is indian. i remember reading in the newspaper once that a policeman raped a newly wed lady infront of her husband and shot her husband infront of her. they were there on a honeymoon. Wow!! What a... what shud i say. im getting angry now, i had tears in my eyes back then.
    for all those who seek to solve this problem... well i feel tht its pratically not possible. not because i dont want it to be solved or im giving up on it but... men are men, most of them are maniacs but not all of them get what they want so they start raping. you ppl know whats happenin in india, ill tell u abt whats happenin here in thailand. u might have heard this b4 tht thailand is famous for prostitution and other adult entertainment (mind u tht its ILLEGAL..lekin chalta hai... chal raha hai). i'd say its true. i know it coz i live here and have been involved in it. i must inform u tht im a college student, male. so, Thais dont face rape problems like what indians do (yes, there are many cases though, but its far less than in india and less horrific...no public rapes)... what im tryin to point out is tht these prostitues actually sacrifice themselves to save the innocent and decent ones. (Before i proceed i must say tht Thai women are conservative, similar to indians, though they dress more fashionable and more sexy looking but thts the nature of women, women love their beauty and want to look good, and here in thailand it's quite safe for them to dress tht way, it doesnt mean tht they are not conservative.) So, it seems like there is no more problem in here with women. but NO, a more worrying problem is created. i mean there in india parents r worried if there dghters will b raped, but here parents r worried if there dghters are indulging in sexual activites coz theres lots and lots of money in this biz. especially with college students who are young and has higher price tag plus these students r in there immaturity stage. they themselves want money to enjoy, and it is in this stage tht they are most curious about sex, and when u have offers on the table 4 u.... a sad event occurs.
    here, i dint even talk about the poor ones who sell themselves to earn for their living, edu, medication, etc. some do to feed their family. and believe me when i say tht more than 95% of these girls dont like thier job. I kno this coz i've been involved in these things as i mentioned earlier. i have many girlfriends who are either a coyote girl, pros and unofficial prostitutes(i mean the students). i said girlfriend but i mean my frens who r girls.. they r not my girls. okay, so i used to go to these places like bars and hook them up and ONLY talk to them. i flirt with them, get their number and talk to them on phone and gradually become their fren. and believe me all of them have sad stories as the reasons to get involved in here. mostly are avoidable. i mean they actually do have an alternative option, but they were simply stuck in the circle and couldnt find their way out for 1 reason or the other. i'm only 22 but, like a grandfather, i often try to convince them to do other things which i arrange for them... like teaching tuituions (which is what i do) and other feasible business, this made many of them fall in love with me :). haha. thts a small perk for me:) but friendship remains nothing more. i wanna marry an indian girl. coz "Sab toh sohni saddi desi girl" im punjabi.
    so, to solve this problem may be thai govt shud help funding women here and provide scholarship to students, and indian govt cut off men's private part as a punishment if they rape some1... what? im talking rubbish...? okay then u tell me, pick one. which of the follwing do u want it to happen, theres no other option.
    (a) a rape of a woman in the public
    (b) a rapist's weapon is destroyed... which would also scare the hell out of the other rapist or to-be-rapist.
    read the incident i wrote earlier in this article again (the highlighted one) before answering
     

Share This Page