Is Delhi unsafe because of family and society?

Women in India are not only a minority but also a threatened minority. Nowhere else is the problem so acute as in the National Capital Region. If any other minority was targeted the way women were, the hue and cry would stall the system.

So what is it about the region that makes it so unsafe for women?
P Chidambaram indicated it could be the high level of immigration — but Mumbai has a large population of immigrants too. Sheila Dixit indicated it could be because women were out at night - travel by local train post 10 pm in Mumbai and you would see women out late. KPS Gill suggested that it is because women wear ‘provocative clothes’ — whatever that means.

All these go to put the onus of the blame on the woman. Of course, after a rape or a murder, there is baying of blood holding the government and the police responsible Even if the accused are caught and sent into the legal labyrinth it is too late for the victim. But, is there something else, I wonder, that makes Delhi so unsafe for women.

The first and most important reason is bad parenting of the male child. Parents bring up their sons as though they were reincarnations of the God Emperor. Utterly spoilt, not knowing that the word “No” exists, not doing an iota of work within the house, and not brought up to respect either their sisters or their mothers, they grow up parroting their childhood behaviour.

Touching someone’s feet or getting a rakhi tied is not the only symbol of respect. Respect comes form every day actions. So, if Delhi and the rest of India have to be more equal towards the female, that behavioural change begins with the way the child is brought up. And, this cannot be done by the state. It is the job of the family - and the famous Indian family system and family values have failed in this regard.

The second is societal. Ever heard the terms “Has gayi to phas gayi” or Ladki ghar ki izzat hai — both end up assuming things on behalf of the woman. The first assumes that no means yes, and the second assumes that a woman only has those rights that conform with the family honour.

Both sets of behaviour have been sanctified by mass media and upheld by patriarchs with vote banks at their disposal. In the name of tradition and culture - women’s rights have been trampled on. From the mass genocide — let’s call it what it is — of females across India in general and north India in particular, to dowry; from feudal behaviour to harassment it has all been excused in the name of tradition. If this is indeed our tradition, it needs to change.

The third reason is governance — both local and state. The first thing that you will notice about Delhi at night is darkness. The bulk of the light in the suburbs come from shops and little lanterns that street traders had. Mumbai, even the suburbs and the bylanes, are usually brightly lit. The only time one can see such darkness in Mumbai is when a power girder trips somewhere. Working streetlights go such a long way to reducing the sense of physical insecurity.

Is there a correlation between 70% of streetlights in Delhi not working and the level of violence ordinary citizens in general, and women in particular, have to face? I don’t know - but one solution could be to fix the streetlights. 

Then, comes policing — there is visible police presence in Mumbai — albeit traffic police. Somehow, uniformed presence increases the feeling of security. Apart from the odd incident or two - the Mumbai police are fairly helpful to citizens at large. More importantly, my guess is that their presence prevents crime. They actually don’t have to do too much but stand there in uniform.

At the final level, there is the judicial system — cases of violence against women need to be fast tracked. Be it dowry, foeticide, or rape. On paper they are, in reality they aren’t. Why aren’t parents being arrested for murder of their unborn child? Why is society quiet when rapists are let off after agreeing to marry the girl or paying blood money of Rs50,000.

And, finally instead of introducing the death penalty for rape and murder of women - as Sushma Swaraj seems to suggest — the system should look, instead, at chemical castration. In a society that values masculinity and maleness -that might be the most effective deterrent.