Reclaiming the streets

It’s a year since the horrific gangrape of a 23 year old shook the capital out of its complacency of always being labeled “an unsafe city.” Even the former chief minister Sheila Dikshit would use it as ‘defence’ when questioned about women’s safety, “We are doing all we can. Its an unsafe city.” 

 

Its as if the city had been handed over to law breakers and the authorities pleaded helplessness, “Our hands our tied, the police is not under us etc. etc.….”  

 

365 days hence, it’s this atmosphere of “business as usual”, that has been somewhat punctured. 

 

Post December 16, 2012, many more women and girls are questioning the “unwritten law” of not stepping outdoors after dark. As one of the women, so aptly put it, “Its time we reclaimed the streets” of this city.  

 

A survey done not too long ago, in 2011 by Jagori, a women's rights group and UNIFEM into women safety in the capital had found that women felt most unsafe when in crowded public transport, bus stops and stations (54%), followed by drunken men in public places (50%). Inadequate street lighting was cited as one of the most common complaints. The study was widely reported in the media, little action followed. 

 

The authorities have never tired of reminding us of the “world class infrastructure” that this city boasts – countless flyovers, broad roads (as well as poll promises of double decker flyovers). 

 

But not too many seem to realize, that that which makes this city stand apart, its roads and flyovers, are also its bane. 

 

These long stretches of planned roads free of shops, street vendors and pedestrians, wipes out the hustle bustle which comes with congested spaces like Mumbai and Kolkata. (That’s not to say that sexual assault cases don’t take place in these two cities.) The point here is that these long “desolate” stretches make girls more vulnerable and need to be policed adequately. If you are going to invest in state of the art infrastructure, you have to invest in intensive law enforcement as well. Take the Delhi Metro as example.  

 

And its not just women on public transport that are at risk. Remember the Headlines Today producer Sowmya Vishwanathan - she was murdered in her car on that desolate Nelson Mandela road stretch in between Munirka and her home in C 9 block in Vasant Kunj. 

 

At that time, the matronly Sheila Dikshit had commented on the journalist as having been “too adventurous” for driving so late in the night. 

 

The public did not appreciate these comments from a person in authority. Infact, one of the many things that the Aam Aadmi Party AAP has been able to do so successfully in Delhi is to tap into this public anger on the issue of women's safety, while other political parties fumbled.

 

AAP’s agenda of ensuring women safety alongside the anti- corruption plank caught the Delhites attention. AAP had spoken of setting up teams of 20 to 25 special 'commandos' (society representatives) and ‘mohalla’ committees to ensure safer city streets. 

 

While it is debatable how effective such steps will be in the long run, one things for sure, there is a growing demand among women to reclaim back the streets of the city.