WOMEN

  October 13, 2012. A student of National Law School of India University (NLSIU) was abducted and raped by an eight-member gang inside the Jnanabharathi campus of Bangalore University, adjacent to NLSIU, when she was with a male friend. She bade goodbye to Bengaluru after the incident and returned to her hometown. She is not the only one - there are hundreds of cases of violence on women that go unreported for various reasons. Such mindless violence can be countered with intelligent precaution and sufficient safety measures. What if the victim had some sort of alarming or alerting system handy,…

How can I ever talk about it? These are the opening lines that play on most women’s mind when it comes to even thinking about menstruation and all the embarrassing moments that surround it. All women, and I mean absolutely all women in India, have had one or the other moments during her period, especially as an adolescent, that she feels she can never talk about openly. And this is true for rural, tribal, urban, educated and uneducated women. Pretending it never happened During trainings for women leaders in IT companies or for ASHA workers in a village to undertake menstrual…

I went to the Passport Seva Kendra at Outer Ring Road in Bengaluru to submit the application for the reissue of my minor daughter’s passport on tatkal. The lady at the front desk, G (name withheld) told me, “A single parent cannot apply for the reissue of her daughter’s passport on tatkal.”  I was asked to get my daughter’s father and the reason for the separation, all this in full public view. Being informed, I told her candidly that was not a reason for rejecting my daughter’s application for reissue of her passport on tatkal, and that she was not eligible to ask personal questions that violate decency…

Carry a charged cell phone always, as a dead mobile is of no use. File pic. Our country is witnessing the worst times for women. That is how we are feeling now. But the truth is women have been continually harassed, teased, attacked, ill-treated for centuries. We are coming to know of all the atrocities as women victims come forward and report the incidents to the law. As a result people have started talking about safety of women, laws protecting women and educating women to protect themselves against the evils prevailing around them. This is a definitely good progress. People…

Are women really safe in the world today? Are there enough women officers who are sympathetic to the problems of women? Is there sufficient staff who is empathetic the problems of other women, even if the problem is not voiced out aloud? Is the future generation of women safe, in the wake of the rising crimes against them? I think not. Or rather I would diplomatically say I do not know. Balancing career and personal life is a real tightrope walk for women on top. File pic. This thought really scares me. More than that it shocks me. In a…

On the sidelines of a press conference of the Bangalore Bus Prayaanikara Vedike (commuters’ forum), a survivor of sexual harassment narrated her recent experience on the city’s Metro. She’d complained to the police, who hauled in the perpetrators – white collar employees of a prestigious global brand. She got them to the police station with some difficulty. A staff member of the Metro had resented having to help her by locating the CCTV tapes and so on. The now chastened young men pleaded with her, saying one of them had to head back to his job in the Middle East…

Haseena was attacked with acid in 1999. She lost her eyes forever, her body suffered severe damage, which stole her right to live like all of us. Her attacker spent only five years in jail, and has faded away from public memory. However, Haseena refused to go down in life. She took up a computer course and learnt to stand on her won feet. Now she’s employed, and helping other visually impaired become self-reliant. Haseena narrates her story to Citizen Matters. Over to Haseena. I was born and brought up in this beautiful city of Bangalore, where my parents and…

On July 16th, an 18-year-old student from Christ University consumed poison, alleging sexual harassment from her NCC instructor. The girl is out of danger now. Though the teacher was taken into custody, there are no further reports on whether he is still in custody or if he was let off. The college authorities, not surprisingly, sided with the teacher. I haven’t been able to confirm if the student has resumed her studies in the same college or if she has moved out. One report says that the father withdrew the case because he “realised that she is a female child…

I was taking my cycle to the ‘Fitness Through Travel’ to get it lubed properly for the race on Sunday. As I passed the playground near 19th Main (BTM Layout), I noticed a young woman in filthy clothes lying unconscious near the grills of the ground. A lot of young men were playing in the ground, paying no attention to her. Everyone was just glancing at her and moving away with the assumption that she was drunk. I too started moving away, but then I noticed dried blood around her foot. I felt bad, went near her and woke her…

Gone are the days when security and surveilence depended on security guards, thanks to the technical advancement. CCTV camera industry is a booming business today, with every shop, showroom, mall, apartment and office complex and hotel investing in electronic modes of security. A small yet significant part of this growing industry in Bangalore is Sadiya Sarwar. Daughter of an automobile engineer and a mother of two, Sadiya started her business in the year 2007. She credits her father for having taught her the ways of this field. “The year I started my company, C2i solutions, the CCTV camera business was…