Step out at Your Own Risk

Why blame the Delhi Police Commissioner for stating a fact?

Most women who have had a taste of Mumbai hate Delhi. Mumbai is the land of the free, Delhi has dangers lurking at every corner. While there is little to be done about the male gaze, in Mumbai, as a norm, things happen differently when it comes to molestation. If you see a woman hitting a man who couldn’t control his hands, soon you will see other men (and sometimes women too) join in. And it’s a brutal lesson. Eve-teasing is not uncommon but once the woman decides to not take it, there is definite support from strangers. But even in Mumbai, by and large, women do not go out alone after 2 am.
Early this week, the Delhi Police Commissioner kicked up a storm when he said that women should have a relative or friend along while travelling at odd hours. He said it was advisable for them to do this, failing which they shouldn’t blame the police alone if they became victims of a crime. His comment was instantly seen as an assault on women’s rights. The consensus among activists is that the Commissioner is an idiot living in another age. The mother of Soumya Vishwanathan, the journalist who was killed while returning from work, said his next edict would be to ask women to be in purdah. Another activist said this was blaming the victim for the crime.
But here’s the thing: the man was not making a law, he was suggesting that the solution to the problem (of crime against women) has an active self-help element. It is only fair to expect that the police will take charge of the safety of its citizens, but why is it absurd for the police to suggest simple deterrents? No police force in the world can guarantee the safety of its citizens if they do not take reasonable precautions. Even men going out alone after 2 am are vulnerable to mugging. Was it not, then, unfair of the Commissioner to only make this suggestion to women? Not really, for crimes against women get more publicity. To the Commissioner, that is, therefore, the problem. It really doesn’t matter if men get mugged after 2 am. It’s not viewed as a social problem.
Attitudes to women in India have been built over millennia. To expect one police commissioner on a two-year posting to change it is being a little optimistic. What he says is pragmatic. It’s exactly what all parents in India tell their children.

About The Author

Madhavankutty Pillai

Madhavankutty Pillai has no specialisations whatsoever. He is among the last of the generalists. And also Open chief of bureau, Mumbai  

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