New Delhi Over a year after the brutal gangrape and murder of a paramedic student, known to the world by the pseudonym of ‘Nirbhaya’ (the fearless), cries for women safety are heard all over the country from voters preparing to elect their representatives this summer. The emotional response to the December 16, 2012, gang rape incident has propelled all political parties to promise a safer city for its female inhabitants.
The weightage given to women’s security by political parties may indeed be a game changer this time. And so feels Asha Devi, the mother of the 23-year-old braveheart, who shared with Gulf News her family’s private initiative to form a Trust to help rape victims. “Very soon, we are going to start work on the formation of the Trust in the memory of my daughter. It will start functioning before the general elections. The Trust shall provide all types of help to the victims of rape and molestation,” Devi said.
She feels that women’s security will be a crucial issue in the upcoming general elections.
“People are unhappy with the state of women’s security in the country. When political parties go all the way to garner votes from people, they must be held accountable for women’s security issues. In the coming elections, political parties must focus on various forms of violence against women, rape is just one form,” she says calling for heightened public awakening on the issue of women’s security.
In order to ensure safety and security of women, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram last year announced the setting up of a ‘Nirbhaya Fund’ of Rs10 billion (Dh613 million). Similarly, the Delhi cabinet in January this year approved the setting up of Mahila Suraksha Dal, a commando force responsible for ensuring the safety of women in the capital. Setting up a special security force for women was one of the election promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had, in the run-up to the Delhi assembly elections, accused the previous Congress government of not doing enough to ensure the safety of women in the city.
Devi believes that recent incidents of molestation and rape have cast a long, dark shadow on the country’s liberal and progressive credentials.
“Women’s security should be a major issue in elections this time due to a spurt in cases of crimes against women. As more women enter public space for education and work, there are more reports of violence against them,” she said. Apart from it being made a poll plank, continuous push from the civil society is required to make women’s security a genuine and top priority for all political parties.
With so many cases of rape and molestation being reported, it is a daunting task for any woman to walk home from the deserted bus stop every evening after it gets dark. I definitely want a government that can ensure a safe city for women,” she avers.
The right initiative
However, she is happy about the ‘Nirbhaya mobile’ — a special women’s squad that patrols in Nashik during the night to help women in distress. The squad has managed to instil a sense of security among women at public places.
Every day, women officials from each police station get a turn to patrol the Nashik city through Nirbhaya Mobile. The sense of security among women on the roads and bus stands during night hours is evident every time the squad ventures out and asks them if they are in need of any help.
“The presence of armed lady cops in uniform is a great confidence-builder among women and girls during the night hours. The squad ensures that it approaches as many women as possible at bus stands, railway stations and other points on the highways, where passengers generally alight from local and inter-state buses. This is the kind of initiatives we expect from our political leaders once they are elected,” she adds.
