I am sixteen years old and my parents never gave me permission to travel alone. When asked, they gave me two reasons- one, that I was still young and second, I was a girl. The first reason made sense to me but the second one made me extremely furious. “What role does my gender play in going out?” is a question that occupied my mind 24/7.
The thought bothered me until I started getting to know more about the issue of girls’ safety in our country. I vividly remember switching on the television once and watching news about the increase in the number of rape cases in the city of Delhi, making it the rape capital of our country. I searched the internet for the same and the number of cases that popped up made me shiver.
The statistics speak for themselves.
According to the National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB), India recorded 88 rape cases every day in 2019.
The NCRB report also highlights that the vulnerability of a girl or woman to rape has increased up to 44% in the last 10 years.
India ranks 148 out of 170 countries in the ‘Women, Peace, and Security Index 2021.
To know more, I decided to speak to school-going girls to understand their personal opinions. Here is what some of them had to say,
“A night out with your friends can make you feel scared and concerned for your safety, even while being fully clothed I feel as if I am naked as the lurid gaze of men pass over my body and God knows what they imagine. The worst part is that the traditional Indian society has normalized this and blame the woman for being attractive,” one of them told me.
“Even if I am out in broad daylight, I feel creeped out with the men staring so I prefer to either go to decent places or just stay at home or go with someone like my brother or father,” said another.
When asked if they had any disturbing encounters, these are some of the responses I received:
“This one time I was travelling in the metro and I saw a creepy man taking a picture of me. Ever since then I have stopped travelling by the metro and prefer to avoid it.”
“I remember walking on the road once and a group of guys randomly started catcalling me. I got so anxious and wanted to cry because I was scared.”
It is extremely heartbreaking to see that girls as young as sixteen or seventeen have to go through such horrendous experiences. From surviving to live as a girl child, getting a minimum education, being treated as an object for marriage and raising kids to struggle when going out alone scared of the numerous consequences, this is the life of a woman in our country.
We must make India a better and safer place for our sisters and mothers. We need to start by teaching our sons to respect women. We must shed light on this so it reaches the ears of every household. Other than our responsibilities as rightful citizens, the government must take some measures too. Although the government has taken various incentives, some areas still lack.
Areas like speedy justice and police reforms need better implementation. Often cases are put on hold or bail is granted too easily. Public areas need to be safer for women, simple measures like well-lit streets, shifting a bus stop to a safer spot by a few meters or constructing functional and clean toilets can make a huge difference. We must also have stricter consequences and stronger laws against these crimes and set up an easy and accessible space to lodge complaints.
The day women in India will feel safe enough to do the most basic things like going to nearby shops without any fear is when we will truly succeed as a country. The moment every citizen understands what consent is and starts respecting the women around them is when we can truly accomplish the dream that our predecessors dreamt of. Let us together try to bring change so that one day no woman feels unsafe in the country they call their home. So that one day the history of ‘India being unsafe for women’ buries in the past.