Women’s safety in India

JUNE 2017 TOPIC: Are women safe in India? Your views.

“Are women safe?” is a question that has been in the headlines for ages. But in my view, more than safety, it’s what we are doing to make sure every woman feels safe. India is fourth in the list for crime rates against women — thought-provoking as it’s a place where women are worshipped. We talk about women empowerment every day but they are the ones to be abused by society, physically or mentally. India has had enough of the vulgarities of human thinking, the harassment and the fear. It’s not about competing with man or fighting for equality but it’s more about having a voice (individuality). That needs to be heard and taken with utmost sincerity and respect.
Shinal Maheshwari
NABA, Milan, Italy

Are women in India safe? Not really. But in comparison with past years, women are safer, but at the same time there is ample scope for improvement. In most parts of India women are free from the evils of sati, child marriage, female infanticide and feticide, etc., but now there are newer forms of evil which we know of as we glance at the daily newspaper. The government is coming out with laws but that is not enough; they should be enforced and monitored. Despite many improvements we cannot say women in India are safe.
Ashton Lobo (14)
Don Bosco, Panjim

Every day the newspaper publishes endless cases of rape and sexual abuse of women that clearly show that India is not a safe place for women. Women in India do not only have the danger of being sexually harassed but also face many other problems like dowry and bride burning, child marriage, domestic violence, etc. One of the main reasons for violence against women is the mentality which deems women inferior to 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. To get rid of this problem, every individual must change their mentality in a positive way.
Vishakha S. Keswani (19)
Kanoria College, Jaipur

From a baby girl to a woman, no age-group of women feels or is made to feel safe. Every day we hear of cases of women harassed in a cab or a metro or a bus. And we call this country safe! Celebration of Women’s Day or Navratri won’t ever make a woman feel safe. Respect is what they need to feel safe from the ‘dominant’ gender. Till then, ladies, we need to be our own heroes!
Adhishi Pokharna (19)
Mody University

That the land which worships women as goddesses also raises a concern about their safety is a matter of shame. Who is to blame? They say rapes and molestations occur due to a woman’s fault — fault in her dressing, fault in her approach, or fault in her stars, maybe? Until mindsets towards women change, the question on their safety will continue.
Rhea Mariam Zenu (19)
All Saints’ College, Trivandrum

People think that India is not safe. But because of the uneducated strata of the society we cannot make a generalization about the whole country. It is not the case that countries like U.S. or U.K. are totally safe for women. The number of harassment cases in India is highlighted more than any other place in the world. Seeing the population of our country one of the reasons why such incidents happen is because of unequal distribution of resources and lack of education.
Harshita Sood
Miranda House, Delhi University

Women form a major part of our country’s population, yet, in my opinion, they are not safe. Daily at least 1-2 cases of rape are in the news. Eve-teasing and domestic violence are the biggest crimes that torture a woman mentally. But instead of raising their voices against this, some women tolerate it quietly which risks their dignity even more as the ones who tease them may even dare to physically harass them. Women should raise their voices against injustice, otherwise this suppression will continue.
Kanvika Sharma (16)
St Angela Sophia School, Jaipur

No, women are definitely not safe in India. This country has a large number of men with horrible minds. Women here are not safe on the roads or buses or even in their own houses. Relatives, teachers, friends or strangers; no one can be trusted. If a girl can’t feel safe in her own house where has she to go? She is not even allowed to speak up. If she does speak up who is going to guarantee her aid? And this scar stays forever. The government has to take measures to protect human dignity, because what some men are doing is a huge black spot on human dignity.
Reona Coutinho (14)
Stella Maris High School, Bangalore

How secure are Indian women in their own country is very clear from the fact that some of them aren’t allowed to move out of the house after the sun sets, even if they are ready to step out in salwar kameez. A girl going for a movie alone or with a bunch of friends is a big thing for her parents. This is something that I find really funny because if an 18-year-old girl can sleep in a room, alone at night, how is the darkness of the theatre with that big screen going to scare her? Actually it’s not the girl who is scared, it’s her parents who are scared; scared of those in our society who think they can play with a girl’s body anywhere, anytime, catcall her and body shame her, making her feel humiliated about whatever she’s wearing! We have celebrated 61 years of independence but it’s so ironical that women’s freedom still seems to be a far cry in this country.
Himani Jain (18)
M.G.N. Public School

It is actually objective. Education and awareness play a huge role. Often it is the illiterate section of the society that is exploited in whatever way, whereas women who are aware about their surroundings, the type of people around her and her rights are unlikely to be victims. India is working on spreading safety and awareness in numerous ways, and while it has worked wonders, it still needs to spread its hand to the rural areas, only then India will be considered safe for women.
Karishma Wadia (18)
Mithibai College of Arts, Mumbai

It depends on what the definition of ‘safe’ is here. *Conditions apply
– Women in India usually do not go out of house after dark.
– Are usually accompanied by their mothers, brothers or fathers.
– General sense of clothing is very non-provocative.
– Many women still do not work outside.
– It is a social taboo to talk about abuse, so many cases go unreported.
Would that give you courage to go out late at night with jeans/shirt outfit, walk to the car parked a little away from the venue? I think I can safely assume the answer is no!
Sukanya Basu Mallik (18)
Auxilium Convent, Bandel

Women in India, today, are becoming the most vulnerable section as far as their safety and security is concerned. When we turn the pages of a newspaper, we come across many headlines reporting cases of sexual assault, molestation, sexual harassment, rapes, trafficking, ill treatment of women at home, etc. Women are safe nowhere — be it cinema halls, shopping malls, railway stations or their own homes! Women safety in India is a big concern.India is a country where women are ‘supposed’ to be respected. Sadly the country where men believe in Goddess Laksmi, her human incarnation is treated as a toy.
Moksha Sharma (18)
Mumbai

Women and girls are safe in India only in books that taught us to respect them; they are safe in the eyes of those those who think women should not wear certain clothes or should not go out after 7 pm. It’s been 70 years of our independence and still women and girls are not safe in the largest democracy of the world. Every other day we see headlines regarding women being gang raped, molested, assaulted, beaten harshly and stripped on roads.I think it will end only when schools impart education that builds strong character rather than good report cards, when there is strict implementation of law and order, when the hypocrites understand that it is not about the clothes that girls wear, but their own small and ridiculous thinking that matters”.
Roopal Gupta (19)
Sophia Girls College, Ajmer

I am a girl and my answer is NO, I AM NOT SAFE! With headlines in newspapers about rape cases every day, I don’t feel our status can be updated to ‘safe’. Though a lot has been done for the safety of women by the government but still cases of eve teasing and molestation (from a minor to a old lady) is reported.
Being a girl, my parents are always concerned when I travel alone or when I go out with my friends because the streets are major hunting ground for such people .
Charu Nigam (19)
Jaypee Institute Of Information Technology, Noida

In my opinion, women are safe in India, as long as they are independent and strong. We can’t wait till men change their perspectives about women.
Aster Shail Vas (17)
Mangalore