Safety- Changing Dream into Reality
Krupa Savajiyani is a second year BLS student and she likes to express her ideas and give her thoughts a new direction.
Safety- Changing Dream into Reality
One day I witnessed three boys following a girl harassing her with cat-calls and indecent comments. As she tried to move away from them, they surrounded her from all sides and wouldn’t let her go. Frantically, she began to shout for help but before help could arrive they seized her and took her away. In retrospect I wondered, “Do we live in a city which is completely safe?”
The answer is No, women and men are victim to numerous crimes. Every day, the newspapers talk of different cases of crimes committed against women, some of them being sexually harassment, mental torture, molestation, murder, rape etc.
We live in a world that is unsafe and dangerous especially for women and girls. The onus of safety falls on ourselves even though the fault lies in others. We are told to protect ourselves, be cautious and not go out or else bear the consequences of others’ actions when crimes are committed against us.
Sex trade/sex work:
Some women are forced into sex work due to desperate situations where they are not financially independent or do not have access to money. They are forced to perform acts that they might not morally, ethically or willingly consent with in order to earn a livelihood.
Ignorance about laws:
It is quite depressing that even after so many years of independence though laws are framed the crime ratio continues to soar high. A major reason for this is illiteracy in many parts of the country. For example, superstitious beliefs hold more water not just in remote and rural parts of India but also in cities due to ignorance. Villagers are cheated and exploited because of less or null knowledge about the laws. Women are harassed, violated and victimised without knowing they can fight back.
Other factors:
There are instances where there are no laws to protect women from violence and harassment etc. Marital rape. In other cases, though there are laws, rules and regulations in place both for the prohibition and redressal of crime against women eg. POSH Act they lack proper implementation. Other socio-economic factors also lead to violence and crimes against women.
Action to bring change:
In order to change the situation, i.e. to develop a safe environment for all to live in, various workshops, educational programmes can be conducted in order to make people aware about the laws, their rights and their duties. Thus, we, on the path of development should speak up against crimes and should strive to bring change and abide by the law as respectful citizens of the society. Educate yourself and others because knowledge of your rights can help you fight for your rights. History is replete with examples of women like Rani Laxmi Bai, Mother Theresa, Malala, etc. We should follow their ideals of life where they have had the courage to stand against injustice. So we, on our part, should not commit crimes and stop others from doing so.
