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Journalism of Courage
EXPRESSING their expectations for greater attention to women’s safety from their next elected representative, women voters in Pune voiced their dismay over the lack of attention to their security from the political agenda ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly election.
For many, the silence is not just a missed opportunity but a sad reminder of how women’s safety has been underplayed when schemes such as the Mahayuti government’s Ladki Bahin Yojana are at the centre of the election debates.
Pune city has reported multiple serious incidents this year that have raised questions on the existing safety and security ecosystem for women cutting across all ages.
October 3: Three men gangraped a 21-year-old woman at a secluded spot located at a walking distance from the police help centre at Bopdev ghat in Pune. Police have arrested two of the accused, but the third accused is still at large.
September 30: Two six-year-old girl students were sexually harassed by a 45-year-old driver of their school. The driver was subsequently arrested.
August 23: At a time when the rape and murder of a female doctor in Kolkata sparked protests across the nation, a 23-year-old auto rickshaw driver sexually harassed a minor girl. As per the FIR, the accused allegedly held the hand of the minor girl and asked her about the Kolkata rape and murder case.
Advocate Madhuri Potdar, a lawyer who has worked on cases of crimes against women and children, for more than 18 years, said, “It is really appalling that leaders across party lines have failed to recognise the issue of security of women. It was the case for Lok Sabha polls too. Every election, when this issue does come to the fore, is a missed opportunity. At the time when there is debate over the woman-centric Ladki Bahin scheme, safety of women is not talked about. This apathy subsequently percolates in the system. The safety of women and children needs a major overhaul at all stages — prevention of crimes, detection of cases, prosecution of accused. The overhaul will not happen if no one talks about it during elections.”
The Bopdev Ghat gangrape case sent shockwaves and also raised questions about the inability of the Pune police in preventing such crimes against women in the city. This was mainly because the incident took place near the police help centre set up on the forest land in Bopdev Ghat in the wake of serious crimes which occurred in the area in the past.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Lok Sabha MP from Baramati and working president of the party Supriya Sule had visited the Bopdev Ghat crime scene and expressed concerns about the rise in crimes against women in Pune.
Arpita Kore, a coaching class teacher said, “The shocking incident at the Badlapur school made it to the headlines. Where is the issue of women and children’s safety now when Maharashtra is about to elect its next government? To make our homes, streets, schools and colleges safe for children and women, we will have to have elected representatives who are sensitive to their issues.”
The sexual abuse of minor girls by a school van driver in Pune in Septemeber had also drawn flak from citizens.
Following the incident, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis said authorities of all schools should verify the background of their staff and drivers.
A few days prior to that, on August 29, the Pune city police organised the “Shala Suraksha Parishad”, a conference at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch in Pune to discuss the issues related to the security of school students, especially girls. During the conference, Amitesh Kumar, commissioner of Pune city police said security of women and children is a matter of top priority and urged the school authorities to take steps for the safety of students.
Kumar particularly spoke about two aspects – security of students in the school premises and their security while being transported from home to school and vice versa. He urged the schools to install CCTV cameras at proper locations in their premises and do character verification of all their teaching, non-teaching staff and the drivers of school vans and autorickshaws.
Sharada Sutar, a resident of Pashan, said, “We keep hearing incidents of chain snatching and women getting robbed. These incidents take place even in areas where there is movement of people and vehicles. We have always believed that Pune is a safe city for women. Repeated incidents are not only making us doubt that notion but also creating a sense of insecurity.”
On the backdrop of these incidents, various organisations in Pune city came together under the banner ‘Mahila Jagar Samiti’ in September and launched an initiative named ‘Meri Raaten, Meri Sadken (My Nights, My Roads)’ from September 21 to December 16. As a part of this initiative, the groups of women are gathering at various locations in the city during the night hours and are holding programs to highlight the issues regarding women safety.
