Every day,
national dailies across the country have glaring statistics on how crimes
against women, children are on the rise. *Delhi is reported the most unsafe
city for women in country, followed by Mumbai, Jaipur and Pune. Nearly one out
of three rape victims in India is under the age of 18. One in 10 is under the
age of 14. Most victims are aged between 18 and 30. According to statistics, a
woman is raped every 20 minutes in India.
Why can’t
India’s **1,585,353 strong police force not protect its women against gender
related crimes? Why can’t the culprits be rounded up and brought to justice?
How many more women will be violated before the police will spring into action?
Are some of the questions we ask not just ourselves, but everyone around us
too.
The brutal
Delhi rape of 23-year old physiotherapy intern Nirbhaya by six men on a moving
bus is an incident that will remain in our memory for a long time. We
often wonder what happened post the incident, what are the officials doing, has
there been any change, is it even possible to make or expect any change?
Building on this
concern and the outrage she felt, Vibha Bakshi, a filmmaker, decided to peep
into Delhi, the city where the Nirbhaya incident occurred and translate it into
a hard hitting documentary, ‘Daughters of Mother India.’
The 45
minute - documentary begins with Vibha, the narrator, travelling on the streets
of Delhi, while she narrates the incident of Nirbhaya rape. The film shifts
focus to a 7-year survivor of an equally brutal rape –Gudiya. The heart wrenching story leaves the viewers asking
questions and many more questions as to how come something like this can happen
in a civilized society. The documentary then goes inside the Indian society, the Government and looks
at the swift and radical changes being made in the Police, the Judiciary and
community groups, who are provoking for the first time, a national dialogue on
the current sexist attitudes of Indian society and how to change them.
In Mumbai, the screening followed by a panel discussion -consisting of Rakesh Maria, Police
Commissioner, Himanshu
Roy, ATS
Chief, Poorna Jagannathan, actor, Vibha Baksi, Director, and moderator Vir Sanghavi,-
had an interactive voicing of thoughts and reactions about the movie and the
steps taken to ensure higher safety for women.
Maria said
that currently for the police, women’s security and sexual offenses are priority number one. A few years ago,
the priority was combating underworld and organized crime. For the last couple
of decades it was terrorism. But now the focus is clearly on women’s safety.
Statics show that, ninety percent of crimes against women take place
within the circle of trust. Statistics for the year 2012 revealed that in reported cases, the
assailants were neighbours, lovers (178), husbands (9), fathers (10), cousins
(5) and friends or relatives (12). Most sexual assault cases also occur in
private spaces.
Maria listed four steps the police have taken to make Mumbai safe for
women. They include:
Setting up a 24 hour helpline: ‘103’
is a helpline number for reporting crimes against children, women and senior
citizens in Mumbai. Once contacted, the police will be there immediately to
take action. The survivor doesn’t need to go to the police station. A jeep with
a lady police office will go the survivors place and record her statement in her
familiar surroundings.
Women Beat
Marshall System: A first-of-its-kind initiative in the country wherein armed
female police personnel will patrol the city streets on bikes, specifically to
tackle crime against women. The 205 female
personnel have been handpicked and imparted rigorous training, including riding
bikes, using firearms, unarmed combat, wire-less communication and so on. They will
also keep an eye on areas consisting of girls schools, colleges, beach fronts,
and at the places where women footfall is heavy. These special squads will
patrol 672 areas which are vulnerable from the women safety point of view.
Helpdesk at Police Stations: There will be lady constables
manning the desks. Children, women, senior citizen will not have to wait to
lodge a complaint. They will be taken to the senior most officer present in the
station and help will be provided as soon as possible.
Additional
security at vulnerable
spots: The police have identified 272 pockets in the city where women
are vulnerable to sexual attacks. Police are posted there and a mobile jeep
keeps doing rounds of the vicinity, to keep the area crime free.
Maria’s
presentation was impressive and unassuming. But a lot depends on how
effectively the measures are implemented. As it is reiterated a number of
times, immediate response and punishment is a good deterrent. This requires
that each one us needs a more alert, proactive in reporting crimes , be more
sensitive towards the survivors and ensure that the system functions
efficiently.
We also need
more storytellers like Vibha, to show us a balanced correct picture of both the
sides a story.
Click here
to see the trailer Daughters of Mother India Daughters of Mother India
References
*Statistics quoted from Times of India, dated 29 Dec, 2014
** Wikipedia
