Securing women’s safety in India
Mithun Dey
These days, Indian women are trapped in the cage of fear ~ it seems they can’t live without the fear of being hassled, while they invariably face different types of stalking. Truly, safety is a lonely word in today’s society. There has been an increase in the atrocities against women in India. Our brutal society can’t think of women without sexual annoyance and immoral trafficking. The recent protests that occurred in the aftermath of the gang-rape of the 23-year-old Delhi paramedical student reminds us of the China Tiananmen square protests in 1989. It has also been reported that most of the women from the North East now often face some form of sexual harassment in Delhi.
This is not all. Police officials reveal that 50% of the fatalities of sexual harassment incidents in the capital, are from northeast India. But there are too many unreported incidences of sexual harassment of women from the northeast. There is a need for the law-enforcing agencies to enforce rules. If not, Indian cities will remain unsafe. Parents must train their children to deal with difficult situations for their own safety, because violence against women is rampant in every corner of the country.
It is the duty of law enforcement agencies to prevent crimes against women but they fail to solve this scourge alone. Teamwork by people is the key to eradicating this menace. People must come forward to help in rooting out such social evils ~ law enforcing agencies cannot work alone. When the people are dynamic in their drive against crimes, the police cannot remain a mute spectator though they are supposed to be the protectors of citizens. They will be forced to dispense their bounden duties. Youth should be motivated to be socially responsible and protect women. This is the need of the hour. Everyone must think of changing society. If we all abide by the rules, women in our cities will surely be safer.
A recent report reveals that almost 98% of women living in Delhi think that women are unsafe ~ many of the abused respondents chose to remain silent after the incident. While sexual annoyance in public places in Delhi is unfortunately common, it is not dependent on the economic status of the individual.
Further, almost 90% of women feel that when a woman is hassled in a public place, she is rarely helped by bystanders. Most women do not feel they can trust the police and only 20% believe that the victims should make a police complaint. One of the key findings of the survey was that the level of awareness among the respondents on existing laws and support mechanisms, is very low. As Mary Jodi Rell, a US Republican politician stated, “the goals are simple: safety and security.”
