ARE WOMAN REALLY SAFE IN INDIA?

The condition of women in India has always been a matter of grave concern. Since the past several
centuries, the women of India were never given equal status and opportunities as compared to that of
their male counterparts. The patriarchal nature of Indian society, which even though gives respect to
women as they are our mothers and sisters, has greatly hampered both the independence as well as
the safety of women. One of the main reasons of violence against women is the mentality which
deems women inferior of men and merely limits their importance to the maintenance of the
household, the upbringing of children and pleasing their husbands and serving other members of the
family. Violence against women is present in every country, cutting across the boundaries of culture,
class, education, income, ethnicity and age. Even though it is now forbidden in most parts of the
world, the reality is that violations against womens rights are often sanctioned under the garb of
cultural practices and norms or through misinterpretation of religious tenets. Moreover, when the
violation takes place within the home, as is very often the case, the abuse is effectively condoned by
the tacit silence and the passivity displayed by the state and the law-enforcing machinery.
In India even in the 21st century, women cannot step out of their house at any given time, assured of
her physical and sexual safety. Everyday women in this society face more problems than
men.The fear of violence and teasing restricts a womans anatomy, curtails her mobility and her
ability to work and participate in social activities. Even today in India, women cant move at night in
secluded places and even at daytime at crowded places. Hundreds and thousands of incidents of
physical / sexual abuse and culturally justified violence happens every day to women in this country.
Violence against women is often a cycle of abuse that manifests itself in many forms throughout their
lives. Even at the very beginning of her life, a girl may be the target of sex- elective
abortion orfemale infanticide in cultures where son preference is prevalent. During childhood,
violence against girls may include enforced malnutrition, lack of access to medical care and
education, incest, female genital mutilation, early marriage, and forced prostitution or bonded
labour.Some go on to suffer throughout their adult lives battered, raped and even murdered
at the hands of intimate partners.
Other crimes of violence against women include forced pregnancy, abortion or sterilization, and
harmful traditional practices such as dowry-related violence, sati (the burning of a widow on
the funeral pyre of her husband), and killings in the name of honour. And in later life, widows
and elderly women also experience abuse.
While the impact of physical abuse may be more visible than psychological scarring, repeated
humiliation and insults, forced isolation, limitations on social mobility, constant threats of
violence and injury, and denial of economic resources are more subtle and insidious forms of
violence. The intangible nature of psychological abuse makes it harder to define and report,
leaving the woman in a situation where she is often made to feel mentally destabilized and
powerless.
Every day I see women suffering in public places especially in trains and buses. When a girl enters
the general compartment, 90% of men scan her from top to bottom and comment on her appearance
and dress. The most frequent comment that is passed on is Why she enters general compartment
when there is ladies coach? What a shameful dominating attitude. I always wonder why these
people dont have the image of their daughter/sister/wife at such times. This happens everywhere, in
the bus stop and even in the office where she works.
The recent incident in which a 23 year old paramedical student was gang-raped by 6 men inside a
moving bus near a posh Delhi locality and thrown off the bus naked after herself and her male friend
were beaten and assaulted with an iron rod has undoubtedly shocked the nation to its core. This was
reflected in the massive protests that followed the incident, demanding justice for the victim, who
unfortunately succumbed to the damage caused by her body by the assault (a major part of her
intestines had to be removed due to the spread of gangrenous infection) in a hospital in Singapore.

The 17-year-old girl, who is pursuing studies in fashion designing in the national capital, was attacked
on July 13th at Guwahati, Assam when she was returning home after celebrating the birthday of her
friend, a teenaged girl, at a bar. The girl was subjected to assault and molestation for nearly half
an hour before being rescued by some passers-by. This brutal act was carried out in a busy
road while everyone were watching as if they were being entertained with some fun. The
teenaged girl was molested, groped at and beaten up, all in full public view, by a mob in
Guwahati, triggering widespread protests in the state.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi admitted that the law and order situation in Guwahati is
deteriorating . He instructed the administration and police to monitor the bars, clubs, discos and hotels
and raid them as and when required.
Although it was a most heinous case of cruelty, it is ironical to note that such incidents are not actually
rare in our country. There are several such cases happening everyday where females (from infants to
old ladies, from upper middle class women in metro cities to dalit women in villages.the list can be
endless) are subjected to horrendous sexual torture by lustful men who are, in most cases, known to
the victims. One cannot generalize the victims or those guilty of sexual crimes in India; they come
from all strata of society and from every part of India and belong to all the age groups.
Where does that strict and constructed image disappear while staring at the other women in society?
The physical, sexual and psychological abuse, sometimes with fatal outcomes, inflicted on women is
comparable to torture in both its nature and severity. It can be perpetrated intentionally, and
committed for the specific purposes of punishment, intimidation, and control of the womans identity
and behaviour. It takes place in situations where a woman may seem free to leave, but is held as a
prisoner by fear of further violence against herself and her children, or by lack of resources, family,
legal or community support.
These women are the unfortunate wives who have to indulge in sexual intercourse with their
husbands even if they don't want to (non-consensual sex is nothing but rape). They don't actually
have a say in front of their husbands when it comes to sex, they have to comply with the needs and
demands of their husbands.
Another category of such women who are bound to indulge in sexual activities against their wishes
are the hundreds of thousands of sex workers in India who are visited by numerous men everyday
and even tortured by many of their clients. They are compelled to do as their clients say as they have
no other means of feeding themselves and their children other than selling their bodies to the sexhungry men of India.
The usual argument in cases of sexual harassment / rape is that the female must have provoked the
assaulting male by either being out of her home so late at night or by her clothes or manner. I
want to ask the men: Why do you always look at women as a commodity? Arent woman a part
of society? Dont you feel the warmth of love of your mother, sister or friend? If an eve teasing
occurs, its she is who is being blamed for the way she dresses and not he for the affront. Its a
human rights violation and is highly condemnable.
The society and the government which advices women what to wear failed to give out a strong
message to those culprits who are involved in violence against women. Today India is listed as 4th
dangerous country for women to live in. Is this is the achievement we gift our mother land? Is this
what we are going to gift to our daughters, friends, wives and mothers? Raise your voice and join
hands to curb this menace. Every man should encourage and empower your daughter, sister, wife to
follow their dreams confidently.
For me womens safety is not just about safeguarding her from sexual harassment; it also includes
safe spaces, freedom from poverty and access to all basic amenities, safe public transportation,

financial security and autonomy and safer healthier community. Building such a nation is everyones
job. Its a mandatory duty of government and judicial system to perfectly ensure women safety and
most important duty is to take severe actions against culprits and to give a strong warning.
Today, we are witnessing more violence against women in different forms in our country which is
turning our nation into hell. I hope you all are aware of what actually happening in this nation which is
now having more lusty beasts. It is time for our entire society to eradicate all forms of violence against
women and to gift a safer nation to our coming generations.
If one reads at least 4 or 5 articles about woman harassment every day, how can one feel safe? It
calls to our attention as to why women cannot be independent of men why should women walk in
the shadows of men? Police records show increased incidences of crimes against women in India. It
was reported that the rate of crimes against women would surpass the population of India by the year
2010 in a study conducted by the National Crime Records Bureau in 1998. However, as many of the
women related crimes such as rape and molestation include a rather severe form of social stigma,
the crimes were often left unsaid and no complaints were filed. So it can be seen that societal norms
and mentality are the root causes of women being silent about their traumatic experience.
Although there have been various attempts by the government and NGOs to prevent such crimes,
many still circumvent the established rules. How do we prevent this? This is something that we should
think about how do we help to prevent such crimes? One must not think that this problem occurs
only amongst the lower social classes; even the socially higher people get blinded with acts of
violence towards women through the aforementioned ways.
Over 32000 murders, 19,000 rapes, 7500 dowry deaths and 36500 molestation cases are the violent
crimes reported in India against women. There are many instances of crime especially against women
go unreported in India. These are figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau recently.
While Madhya Pradesh is worst off among the states, the national capital New Delhi continues to hold
on to its reputation of being the most unsafe city in India. Delhi takes the top slot for crimes ranging
from murders and rapes to dowry deaths and abductions.
Rape is the fastest growing crime in the country today and as many as 18 women are assaulted in
some form or the other every hour across India. Over the last few months cases of rapes and assault
have made it to the headlines with alarming frequency. Mumbai watched with shame as an ugly mob
attacked women on New Years Eve. In Latur a 14 year old was raped and killed by four young men.
In Konark four men were charged with dragging a woman out of a bus and gang raping her. It is an
ordeal simply to file a police report and the investigations thereafter have been stories of apathy and
down right humiliation meted out to the victims. Where convicted, punishments have ranged from
capital punishments to a day in jail.
Equally horrific are news reports of foreign tourists being sexually assaulted. An American was
molested in Pushkar, a British journalist raped in Goa, Canadian girls attacked in Kumarakom to list
the few instances. It looks like that India as a nation has ceased to know how to treat women as
human beings who have a right to dignity and safety. The crime against tourists is against our culture
of atithi devo bhava Government has decided to meet and discuss with the state government the
safety of women tourists as a reaction from the fear that such incidents will impact Indias image.
Despite the trauma women across all classes are reporting crimes such as rape and assault and do
not feel helpless or abandoned by family or society as was the prevalent case before. Society is
changing and government is forced to take action as it has run out of excuses such as societys
mindset or class divide.
This is the story not only in India but in most of the other countries as well.

Why arent Indias women and girls safe? Who is responsible for their safety? How should that safety
be assured? Since December 2012, these three questions have become a fixture on the national
agenda, as has the issue of safety, or more precisely, freedom from violence. But women and girls
have always thought about safety. How could they not, when the threat of violence is pervasive and
shadows them from conception through their lifetimes? Concerns about safety limit womens mobility
and activities and teach them to strategize everything from timings to travel to how to walk to the
office or college toilet.

The Indian womens movement has always raised the issue of violenceviolence against women (or
more broadly, gender-based violence that is directed at anyone by virtue of their gender) and the
violence that follows from structural inequalities like caste, poverty or identity.

Indias library of laws dealing with violence against women are a legacy of the womens movements
many campaigns to find ways to deter this violence such as the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques
(Regulation And Prevention Of Misuse) Act, 1994, which addressed the growing problem of sexselective abortion) or to offer justice to victims such as the very recent Sexual Harassment of Women
at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, which offers the growing numbers of
women who work outside their own home a process whereby they can complain about sexual
harassment). This is historically consistentsocial reformers and social movements in India have
seen the law as the remedy for social problems and sought new laws or amendments to old ones.
Examples range from Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagars successful advocacy for the Hindu Widows
Remarriage Act, 1856, to the Right to Information Act, 2005.

We think first about the lawnot because we are law-abidingbut because we repose primary
responsibility for womens safety in the hands of the state. We also see laws as expressing a larger
consensus (which may or may not exist in reality) that certain kinds of behaviour are unacceptable to
this society. When laws have not worked as we imagined they would, we assume it is because they
were not properly implemented. The police are corrupt, we say, and the judicial system takes too
long. When violence against women occurs, its because someone else failedthe police, the courts,
the law and order apparatus, governance, politicians.

Concerns about womens safety are expressed in paternalistic termshow do we keep our women
safeour mothers and sisters, daughters and daughters-in-law, cousins and friends? Protectiveness
is one way to express we care, but in the context of violence, it takes the form of restricting mobility,
choice and freedom.

Protection against violence outside the home becomes the pretext for control. A different category of
violence emerges when education is interrupted, livelihood options are (de)limited and choice of
friends and life-partners restricted or dictated. Women are toldwear this, do that, dont go there,
dont talk to such people, dont make eye contact. Discussing harassment situations at workshops, we
learn that the victim should have said no clearly and firmly. Women are safe when they behave

and speak in ways that ensure their safety. Women are unsafe when they make unsafe choices
(dress, work, any).

This logic is extended, when the home is described as a safe haven; if women want to be safe, they
should stay at home. But the home is not safe either. If the streets are full of marauders who are
easily tempted into violence, predators lurk in the home. As much as they are the individual who beats
and tortures a spouse or the relative who gropes, fondles or rapes the vulnerable, predators are also
the family that thinks that a baby girl is a lesser child, that cousins are promised to each other or that
the resident domestic worker also offers sexual services.

There are no safe havens for women. Nor, I believe, should there be. The idea of a safe haven to me
seems to endorse the idea that it is acceptable that other places are unsafe. I say, its time we
dumped that idea altogether.

How do we make every place safe for women, men and others? How do we make freedom from fear
of violence a part of who we are? By taking responsibility.

Yes, laws matter and governments are responsible first and foremost, for public safety. Yes, we
should be careful and thoughtful about potential risks. But weeach of us, all of us, togetheralso
bear responsibility together for the world as it is and as it should be.

The first step is to recognize violence as violence. Groping is not acceptable because a girl got on a
crowded bus. Staying on to work with the team to meet a project deadline is not seduction. A slightly
shapeless roti does not warrant punishment. Enforcing male preference by abusing diagnostic
techniques is not freedom of choice. Having been in a relationship does not deprive someone of the
right to say no. To see violence where we would see lack of caution, poor choices, justice of a sort,
passion or punishmentthat is the starting point. After December 2012, we may be closer to that
starting point than ever before.

The second step is to learn practical ways to stop violence from happening around you. Bell Bajaos
excellent videos offer many examples of simple things that neighbours and bystanders can do to
break a moment of violence. In an office situation, if someone looks uncomfortable in an interaction,
one might just walk up and interrupt by asking a question. On a train, if women travellers are being
heckled, one might appear to join them as a way of communicating that the harassment has been
noticed. Within the family, making gender violence a conversation topic can help to share awareness
on what is and is not acceptable even within close relationships.

Stopping violence does not need to involve confrontation and danger. It can be as simple as noticing
and as sharing what one learns (from ideas to laws to helplines). Being alert and being considerate
are more than half the battle won.

The third step is to know the law. We agitate for this law and that, and dissect drafts critically but do
we know how to use the law? Are we willing to complain and stay the course? Reporting of violence
against women is on the rise, happily, and this is where the role and functioning of the police and
courts becomes relevant.

Taking responsibility, means finally, learning about support services (safe-homes and shelters; legal
counselling; psychological and medical help; livelihood training) for survivors of violence and for their
families. We should understand what services exist, and how we can strengthen those servicesby
volunteering time, by sharing resources or by making donations, at minimum.

Blaming the government, police and women, we will never eliminate the threat of violence against
women (and others). By seeking and designating safe havens here and there, we force women to
trade freedom for safety, citizenship for protection. But by owning and taking responsibility for a
violence-free world, we start building the world in which we would like to live and we would like our
children to inherit.