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Bekhauf Azadi: Ensuring Freedom Without Fear For Women
More from Reeti Mahobe
By Reeti Mahobe:
This issue has been talked about, discussed and written over umpteen number of times particularly since ‘that’ violent incident of December 16, 2012. There still remains a question of how safe are our women and what really has to be done to ensure that? Amongst all those depressing news that has been coming around, we have something we need to cheer about, the journalist who had fallen prey to those criminals has said ‘her life hasn’t ended, she would continue to do reporting.’
This is a bold and warmly welcome step in a society which, to a large extent, doesn’t let go off any chance to ostracize and stigmatize the already victimized persons. Well, it has now been understood by those closely following all that has been said by notable speakers and writers that ‘rape’ is not just an outright expression of sexual urges but an expression of power and the will to dominate over those who they consider to be vulnerable, be it women belonging to the dalit community, a woman assistant, the one caught in an isolated dim light place etc. Some say its because ours is a society where boys and girls still don’t interact freely with each other and that doesn’t allow them to understand and respect each other. That’s a correct thing to say to an extent but if you see it closely, any gender based violence ultimately comes under the dynamics of ‘power’ play.
We have had that fabulous Verma Commission Report. We now have an amended criminal law with rigorous punishment and recognition of other forms of exploitation. We lack in the coordination between various agencies and also within society to spread the message clearly. We have maximum number of police personnel for VIP security. We need to have working CCTV cameras in police stations to monitor the attitude of police towards women. We need better street lighting. All offices must provide their women employees with a proper cab service. We need faster disposal of cases with higher conviction rates. We need to refrain from commodifying women every now and then. We need an education system that doesn’t simply strive to make our children and youth only employable but also to make them more socially responsible.
We seriously need to cover the stories from remote places too, they matter much more than just megalopolis. We need counselors at the police stations and courts and till the case goes on, availing their services for just few minutes would only be tokenism rather than serving the real purpose. Yes, of course we need to educate our boys better, to make them learn to respect women as women not just as sisters or mothers. We need to grow up as a more informed and mature society. It’s not just about women’s rights but more importantly about human rights. It’s time that we now begin acting and turn ideas into reality.
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Manan Grover
Finally an article that highlights the possible solutions for protecting women, and not just endlessly rant about their condition and the injustice being inflicted on them. We have debated and discussed enough on the pathetic state of safety of women. What we now require is solutions and implementation of those quickly.
K.B.Srivastava
Shilpa Shetty, heroin has suggested that ladies should have a knife with them for their safety, but I think that all ladies should ;have a pistol with bullets containing anaesthesia to get the culprits unconscious so that he can not rape. Government is requested to provide such pistol to all girls free of cost for their defence against rapists. At least there is a quest6ion of babies, they should not be left alone anywhere for rapists, but should be looked after by their Grand mothers/fathers/Nanas and Nanis etc. Due to poverty some mothers work for brick kiln and some of them go to wash utensils in other houses and they leave their children alone at home for rapists. There should be a crèche in each mohallas in which their children should be admitted and a lady constables should be deputed to look after their children. All States of India should create an extra post of female home minister and female DGPs under whom a large number of female constables should be posted to ensure protection of women and babies. In villages poor families have no toilets in their houses so they go to the field for toilets and they are raped and some of them are murdered there. Enough amounts are sanctioned by the government for welfare of society, but government employees embezzle the same and they get nothing.Therefore Government should transfer money each month in their accounts directly (DBT) sanctioned for social welfare by State Governments each year so that amounts sanctioned for social welfare or for flood affected families are not embezzled by the government employees. If poor families get money they can make toilets in their houses and their ladies will not have to go into the bushes, sugarcane crops and arhar crops for toilets.