SAFETY OF WOMEN IN INDIA

My dear Ladies & Men (I will not use gentlemen as I feel each day and minute these men are loosing their respect in the eyes of every woman.

Nirbhaya gang-rape in the national capital of India was a dreadful event which can never be forgotten.

Babies, girls, women and even grannies are becoming prey to hungry beasts we call men. These men are ranging from ages as small as 12 year old onwards. They are haunting the psyche of females day in and day out. Rapes are taking place more in groups now and the victim is being tortured with foreign objects like rods, etc and brutally being injured. It is insane.

Being a mother of a teenage daughter, I am living in fear each moment she steps out of the house or beyond my eyesight. More now I feel scared for myself too, incase I have to park in a basement of a mall or for that matter anywhere, nothing seems to be safe. You can just be pulled out of your car and you’re done with.

Our Indian law and order is totally out of place when it comes to punishment. I think women should be given the right to punish these bastards there and then, hang them, torture them and cut out their private parts so they know what it feels like to be physically assaulted.

A country where women are considered Goddess Lakshmi and are supposed to be respected in the society is today vulnerable to prey.

Women are harassed not only in the night or evening but also in the day time at their home, school, working places, or other places like streets, clubs, market places, etc. A huge percentage of women have no faith that police can curb such harassment cases. There is an urgent need to understand and solve this problem of women safety so that they can also grow equally like men in their own country safely without fear.

Running in the 21st century, an advanced era, it is shameful to say women are in doubt regarding safety of woman in India.

Keeping Women Safety in mind below are some points to take note of:

• Self defence techniques are the first and foremost thing that comes to mind. It would be a good idea that we must get proper self-defense training for our safety. Techniques such as kicks to groin, blocking punches, etc.
• Escape and run is a good way to reduce some risks of women whenever they sense a problem.
• Be careful while communicating with someone on internet in cyberspace.
• Pepper spray is a useful self-defence tool however it has a drawback that some people cannot be harmed through it even after full-face spray. It may not stop the attacker so women should not depend on it completely and use other techniques also.
• Keep all the emergency numbers with yourself and whatsapp location to family members and police at regular intervals.
• Women should be very conscious while driving the car and going to any trip. It is a must to lock all the doors of your car while travelling.
• Check your taxi door to see if the child lock is activated. Make sure it is not activated.
• Incase you have an intruder at home, the safest place to go is the kitchen where you can use all the masalas and kitchen equipment to harm the intruder and it gives you time to reach out for help.

Women safety is a big social issue which needs to be solved urgently by the effort of all. It is in some way or the other inhibiting the growth and development of the country.

Safety Laws for Women in India

There is a list of safety laws for women in India working in the field to provide safety to the women from all type of crimes against women.

Some safety laws are : Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, Special Marriage Act 1954, Hindu Marriage Act 1955, Hindu Widows Remarriage Act 1856, Indian Penal Code 1860, Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, Maternity Benefit Act 1861, Foreign Marriage Act 1969, Indian Divorce Act 1969, Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971, Christian Marriage Act 1872, Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, Equal Remuneration Act 1976, Married Women’s Property Act 1874, Births, Deaths & Marriages Registration Act 1886, Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act 1986, Muslim women (protection of rights on divorce) Act 1986, Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act 1987, National Commission for Women Act 1990, Prohibition of Sex Selection Act 1994, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place Act 2013, etc.

Another Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015 has been passed replacing the existing Indian juvenile delinquency law of 2000 (Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000). This act was passed by the Lok Sabha on 7th of May in 2015 and however, by the Rajya Sabha on 22nd of December in 2015. This act is passed to lower down the juvenile age from 18 to 16 years in cases of heinous offense (especially after the release of Nirbhaya’s case accused juvenile).

Despite of formation of various effective rules and regulations by the Indian government to handle and control the crimes against women, the number and frequency of crimes against women are on the rise day by day.

The government should not only be blamed because women safety is not only the responsibility of government only, it is the responsibility of each and every Indian citizen especially men who need to change their mind set for women.

For a long time, we have been asking our women to “cover themselves up”, to “stay in their limits” or “ignore” cases of harassment. It’s now reached a tipping point and these age-old methods are proving to be ineffective.

Some best women safety apps

There are various safety apps present on the play store designed for the protection and security of women. The basics of most apps are similar — a user-decided list of emergency contacts to alert, and transmission of GPS-determined location — but the newer ones are easier to use, almost intuitive.

Take a look and download the one you like the most:

1. Safetipin

Safetipin is one of the good options when it comes to safety apps for women. The app is designed keeping in mind the concept of personal safety. It incorporates all the essential features such as GPS tracking, emergency contact numbers, directions to safe locations etc.

The app also pins the safe areas along with their safety scores to go at the time of any problem. It also enables the users to pin unsafe areas and help others. Safetipin is available in Hindi, and Spanish, besides English.

2. Raksha – women safety alert

The Raksha app is designed to ensure that women stay safe always. The app comes equipped with a button, which will send alerts to your loved ones with your location in a situation of distress. You can select the contacts, which will be able to see your location. Moreover, if the app is switched off and is not working then also you will be able to send alerts by simply pressing the volume key for three seconds.

The app also has SOS functionality and can also send SMS if stuck in a non internet area.

3. Himmat

The Himaat app is a free safety app recommend for women by the Delhi Police. In order to use the app, the user has to register at the Delhi Police website. Once the registration is complete the user will receive an OTP, which has to be entered at the time of completing the app configuration.

In a problematic situation if the user raises the SOS alert from the app, the location information and audio video will be directly transmitted to the Delhi Police control room following which the police will reach the location.

4. Women safety

The next on our list is the Women Safety app that will inform and update your dear ones if you are stuck in an unsafe place. It will send all the details related to your location with just a tap of a button.

The app will send an SMS to a preconfigured number along with your location and a link of Google Maps. The app will also click two pictures with the front and rear camera, which are directly uploaded to the server.

The Women safety app comprises of three colored buttons based on the seriousness of a situation. So, you can tap the one you want depending on your situation.

5. Smart24x7

The Smart24x7 app is supported by the various states’ police just to ensure the safety of women and senior citizens. The app sends panic alerts to emergency contacts in a problematic situation. It also records voices and also takes photographs during the panic situation and transfers these to the police as well.

It also has call centre support, which will track down the primary movements of the user. Users just need to press the panic button and select the type of service required and then finally click on submit.

6. Shake2Safety

Shake2Safety app is the easiest to use. The user just needs to shake their smartphone or just press the power button four times to send an SOS text or call to the registered numbers. It works with the locked screen on and even without an internet connection. Moreover, the users will also have the ability to activate or deactivate the option of shaking the device to send an alert.

The app can also be used in case of an accident, harassment, robbery or any natural calamities.

7. bSafe

The bSafe app ensures the safety and security of women. It allows contacts follow you through a live GPS trail and also set a timed alarm which goes off if you haven’t ‘checked in’. Moreover, it will also make your phone ring with a fake call and also notifies the emergency contacts with the location, video and even siren.

Along with this, there is also a Guardian Alert button, which will immediately tell your friends or family members with the GPS location and video at the time of distress.

This blog was written with just my thoughts and some information is taken from the internet to consolidate information. Please ladies stay safe!