This is an issue that has bedeviled society for a very long time. The media reports instances of women being verbally and physically assaulted on the street or at home. Media reports that there are up to 20 cases of violence against women every month in the state points out to this ghastly truth. Women in the state were fierce in their condemnation of the prevailing state of affairs.
Zainab Quadri, a college student said she felt fear when she thought about the recent incidents that had taken place against women. She said “I feel my fear as a woman has increased. I never thought I would ever fear to go to the beach, being a Goan that was my absolute paradise. The current happenings, the atrocities against women have instilled a fear in me. when I hear mixed opinions about people, especially when there are people who still choose to blame the upbringing of a woman and judge her choices of living her life on her own terms, it is astonishing”. The accused, she said, had not destroyed a single life but many lives, including those of the family members along with the other girls who would now fear to step out due to such incidents. Zainab said it was important to educate men and instill values that led them to respecting women. Technology could be used to track loved ones. It should be used to protect them and finally it was important to address the mentality that men had who felt that a woman out at 3 am was characterless and a woman wearing revealing clothes was giving an invitation to invade her personal space. She said “Being a society in transition, we need to address this fundamental issue of women safety and accepting women to be the part of everything equally”.
Ishita Rao, a young lady, felt that given the devastating effects of violence on women, prevention should start early in life, by educating and working with young boys and girls promoting respectful relationships and gender equality. She felt it was important to encourage young girls and boys to speak about these matters at home as one way to show support and it also acted as a safe place to come and vent if ever encountered with a situation. It was also important to stop victim blaming, she said.
Mrunalini Pai, a student in a local college said “I’ve heard of a lot of women who have been victims of violence and harassment. These are still the cases which get reported or get known due to social media. But I believe they form just the tip of the iceberg. I think the problem not only lies within the attacker but also the people surrounding the victim, who often tend to tell the victim to ‘bear it’ or have a helpless mentality. A little courage and research on how some laws can help them get out of this miserable situation, is a step towards reducing violence against women”. She felt education and learning self defense was important. She said anyone attacking somebody, clearly lacked education and empathy. In order to avoid having more of such people, she felt values, respect, sensitivity should be inculcated in children itself. Mrunalini admitted these were long term solutions but had to be done nonetheless.
Abisha Fernandes, a young lady on the cusp of starting her professional career, said whenever she stepped out the only question that revolved in her mind was if she was safe in her own state. She said “ If I go to college or step out to do any official work alone, am I safe? No. People’s mentality was important. Do they see women as a mother, a sister or a “show piece” or a “shoe of their feet”? The government has failed because there are no proper laws to safeguard women. In countries like Dubai, Iran, Afghanistan, China they give instant punishments like death penalty, hanging and shooting them in front of people. In India it was bribing, abuse and harassment in short no action.”
Shimron Nathan, a model and student in a local college said many of her friends felt unsafe going out regardless whether it was day or night. She said “Most of us decided to carry weapons on us, out in the open, may it be a knife or pepper spray we needed to have something. We couldn’t rely on someone to keep us safe, especially the Government. Another thing with regards to the forces deployed is that our girls do not even feel safe with police officers. One of the reasons being that most times these officers are men and we cannot really trust anyone. Regardless of whether their intentions are good or not we always keep our guard up and we just feel unsafe and don’t trust anyone. Honestly we don’t know nowadays who’s here to help us and who’s not. Also, another thing with the police officers, they don’t only make us feel unsafe because they’re men but also there have been cases where cops extort money and harass teenagers and young adults”. She said she had experienced this first-hand and not just once. Shimron said they would say “we’ll take you to the police station” when they had done nothing wrong.
Salma Fernandes a working professional said violence against women had a negative impact on a women’s general well being and prevented them from absolutely taking part in society. It additionally affected their families, their community, and many faced a lot of health issues. The government she said had to initiate strict actions with cops patrolling in every single lane of the village to ensure women were safe. She also felt that every village should have a women station wherein they make sure that women in the village felt safe and would be assured of receiving justice.
One can say at the end of it all it is important that men change their ideas of what a woman ought to be because that is more than half the battle. One can only hope this evolution of thought is faster than its present pace. Till then sadly the media will continue to report instances that will cause fear, anger and pain.
