Attitude of ignoring crimes against women must end, says Arvind Kejriwal

The attitude of ignoring crimes against women has to end, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday as he exhorted men and boys to view ensuring the safety of women as their responsibility.

Unless the society realises its responsibility and brings a change from within, all efforts to make Delhi safer for women will go in vain, he said.

Kejriwal was speaking at a ceremony where he felicitated winners of the Delhi Commission for Women's (DCW) International Women's Day Awards.

He said he was thrilled to present the awards, especially to Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus drivers.

"The Delhi government is committed to adding more and more women bus drivers to the DTC bus fleet," he said.

He honoured 31 DTC women bus drivers.

On making Delhi safer for women, the chief minister said the DCW and the government are facilitators of women's safety and empowerment, but the society's support is needed to achieve the goal fully.

"As long as the society does not realise its responsibility and brings change from within, all our efforts will be fruitless," he said.

Referring to the Nirbhaya case, Kejriwal said, "Every man, every boy must see the safety of women as their own responsibility, irrespective of who it is. We need to end the attitude of ignoring crimes against women. We, as a country, are a family, we have to look out for each other as a family and only then we can claim to have built a better nation."

Listing the steps taken by his government to make Delhi a safe city, he said, "Today Delhi has the most dense network of CCTVs in the world. We have left behind New York, Tokyo, Paris and all other metropolis cities of the world to make Delhi a safe place for women."

All 365 days in a year are for women but International Women's Day is a special day to celebrate them, the chief minister said.

"There is a proverb: Age is merely a number. Today at this event, 104-year-old and 106-year-old women are being felicitated. We should take inspiration from them," he said.

Three elderly women -- Kuttiyamma Konthi and Rambai, both aged 105, and 95-year-old Bhagwani Devi Dagar -- were among the recipients of the International Women's Day Awards.

Konthi scored 89 per cent in the Kerala District Literacy Examination, proving that determination, hard work and consistency can make the impossible possible.

Super Dadi Rambai has won 21 gold medals at various athletics meets.

Bhagwani won three medals for India at the World Master Athletics Championship in Finland. She created a national record by completing the 100-metre race in 24.74 seconds. She also bagged a bronze medal in shot put.

The DCW congratulated them for their courage and strength.

Among the other prominent personalities who won the awards were Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, U-19 cricketer Sonia Mendiya and hockey player Mumtaz Khan.

Twenty-two Delhi Police officers were also honoured at the awards ceremony. Some other Delhi Police officers were awarded for recovering missing children and empowering women and girls through self-defence training.

Women officers of Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Border Roads Organisation, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force and Indian Coast Guard were also honoured at the event.