State of the Nation: Indian women lack safety, security

BITTER TRUTH: A CNN-IBN-Indian Express-CSDS report has revealed that Indian women lack basic security and safety.

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New Delhi: The year began on a horrific note when two NRI women were molested by a group of about 60 men in Mumbai on New Year’s Eve. Finally, after repeated cases of rape and molestation, the Centre is discussing the security of foreign tourists with states.

The question remains, however: what about women who live in India? Do they feel secure at home and when they step out?

The first ever national survey on India and women, a CNN-IBN-Indian Express-CSDS report reveals shameful and shocking truths.

Forty four per cent of Indian women surveyed confess to feeling insecure the moment they step out of their homes. 53 per cent of these are women living in metropolitan cities.

This insecurity extends beyond class and communal boundaries.

68 per cent of economically backward and disadvantaged women in metros say they feel unsafe.

The same thought is echoed by 60 per cent of Muslim women in India.

Single, working women do not feel safe either. As much as 60 per cent from this group are scared for their safety when they step outside their homes.

Women feel particularly vulnerable in public places.

“In Delhi, women cannot travel after 7 pm,” said All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s member, Uzma Nahid.

Women have increasingly come to realise that harassment at the workplace is no longer a myth.

In the past year alone, 22 per cent of the women surveyed – across professions – say they have been teased or molested at least once, while among the office-going crowd, the numbers are higher, at 28 per cent.

Even manual labourers are not exempt from harassment, with over 36 per cent claiming to have been harassed by their co-workers or employers.

“We have committees against sexual harassment, as per the Supreme Court’s advice. But harassment at the workplace is an issue.” admits IGP (Crime Record Bureau) Meeran Chadha Borvankar

And here's what is damning: nearly half of all the women surveyed said they were not confident of going to the police if they were molested

Even in their homes, women have said they do not feel safe.

While 17 per cent say they are beaten by their husbands, six per cent face the same from their in laws. 12 per cent of respondents were beaten up by their father at least once in the past year.

It is ironic, shameful and even tragic, that though India's First Citizen is a woman, when it comes to giving its women citizens across the country something as basic as safety and security, India still lags a lot.