By Sophie Hardefeldt, a Centre for Social Research Intern in the Gender Training Institute. Sophie recently graduated with a Masters in International Development from RMIT, Australia.

Tawakkul Karman, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee

Earlier this month three women Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman, were each awarded a Nobel Prize “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work”. The announcement got me thinking about the history of the global women rights movement and questioning why, 40 years after the women in development movement began, gender inequality remains so persuasive throughout most of the world.

Take India for example, where women make up almost half of the population and where women’s equality is enshrined within the constitution. Despite efforts being made to address gender inequality by government and non-government organisations, discrimination against women continues almost unabated. Now in 2011, India has the world’s worst sex ratio with only 940 girls being born for every 1000 boys, sex-selective abortions are on the rise, women receive less education and are more likely to be illiterate, women are less likely to find employment, are often restricted to the unorganised employment sector which lack security and workers rights, and receive lower wages than their male counterparts. Furthermore, violence against women persists in the form of domestic violence, honour and dowry killings, trafficking in persons, forced prostitution and harassment.

While gender inequality is generally recognised as being detrimental for women, the wider impacts on society are often ignored and the issue is marginalised in favour of more ‘mainstream’ economic concerns. The myriad of social, cultural and economic benefits that the empowerment of women has for women, men and society at large is often forgotten, or simply undervalued and ignored.

So what are the benefits of promoting women’s rights?

Educating women leads to a reduction in child mortality and improves nutrition and health within families. Educated women are also more likely to promote education within their community and are more able to generate an income outside of the home.

Women are more likely to invest in families than men and increasing women’s access to income and control over resources not only benefits women but also improves child nutrition, education levels and healthcare attendance amongst their families and communities.

Addressing violence against women reduces levels of mortality and morbidity, ensures that women are physically and emotionally able to participate within their communities and leads to a more healthy and happy family environment.

Furthermore, when women participate in the political arena they are more able to address issues of discrimination against women and girls and are empowered them to address gender imbalances within their community.

It’s encouraging to see Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman being recognised for their contribution to the women’s rights movement. It would be truly amazing if their objectives could be realised and gender equality was achieved across the world. The benefits for women and men would be endless.

Rape is one of the most distressing and prevalent forms of violence against women in India today, with as many as two women being raped every hour across the country, according to the latest National Crime Bureau statistics. Owing to an alarming increase in the number of rape cases in the Capital, in July of this year our Development division undertook a study which examined the First Information Reports (FIRs) registered at CSR’s Rape Crisis Intervention Centre from early 2010 to July 2011. A total of 58 cases were examined, and additional field visits to South Western district police stations were conducted to review the quality of the implementation of Delhi High Court directives dealing with child sexual abuse cases.

So far, to date, the study has been covered among national and international outlets including the Times of India, Daily Pioneer, Asian Age, and Outlook India. While much of this media attention focussed on timing and location of the incidents, the study also revealed a trend in the age of victims and perpetrators. The majority of rape victims seeking assistance and filing reports at the CSR Crisis Intervention Centre are below the age of 20 (66%, with 22% of victims under the age of 10). On the other hand, 67% of accused were over the age of 20.

Additionally striking, was the discovery of a high prevalence of sexual assault committed by persons known to the victim: 51 out of 58 persons accused were relatives, neighbours, friends, teachers or acquaintances; only 7 out of 58 persons accused were either strangers or were not further specified by the victim.

By Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director of Centre for Social Research.

Despite the fact that the safety of women is an issue raised time and time again, for women in India fear is a constant companion. A recent survey by Trustlaw Women has re-affirmed those fears after ranking India as the fourth most dangerous country for women in the world. As they strike out on their search for economic and social independence, such a dangerous environment can become akin to terror on women.

Worryingly, Indian women are often treated as the catalyst of violence and sexual assault rather than the victim. Cases of rape provide a good example. For instance, rather than find out the details of the case or ask why the police didn’t arrive at the scene on time, blame is usually placed on the aggrieved girl herself – ‘why was she out in an unsafe place at night?’, ‘why was she alone?’, ‘why was she wearing provocative and revealing clothes?’. This reflects not only the attitudes of a few, but also the mindset of Indian people on the whole. Victim blaming exists within the general public, within families, and even within the institutions which are supposed to be keeping our cities safe. This kind of thinking perpetuates crime against women and is an obstacle in the road for organisations like CSR who are working to create a safer environment for women and girls within their own homes and their own country.

Statistics compiled by the National Crime Record Bureau show that the number of reported rapes across the country has increased substantially from only 
2,487 in 1971 to 21,176 in 2008. An incredible number of additional, unreported instances of rape are missing from this picture. And, while it is fair to point out that Indian population has risen during this period but so too has the strength and number of policemen deployed for citizens’ safety. The answer to these problems does not lie in the more old-fashioned approach of prohibiting the freedom of mobility of women, but in educating people about the wrongs of violence against women, and convicting the perpetrators who are unfit to live in our society. We must strive to ensure women’s freedom and make the streets and households of Delhi safer for all.

It is saddening that even in urban India, people do not feel safe. In a 2004 survey of 13,000 people for the Delhi Human Development Report (HDR), only 19% of those asked said that they felt Delhi is safe for women. The HDR recommended a shift from a more traditional, restrictive approach to women’s safety to one that concentrates on ‘women’s right to a life free from fear and violence’. This is exactly the kind of approach we should be promoting. Earlier this year the Delhi Police Commissioner outraged people by saying “you (women) cannot drive alone at 2am 
on Delhi roads and then claim that the Capital is unsafe”. Why did his comment tick people off? Largely because, instead of vowing to think up new and innovative ways to protect the city’s women, he advised them to do something which in fact impinges upon their freedom and only adds to their fears. This kind of attitude is detrimental to efforts being made to change conservative Indian mentality. While approaches to women’s safety in the past revolved around concepts of fear, restriction and self-preservation, we now need to focus on empowering women and giving them the confidence to walk the streets, ride public transport and enjoy everything that this city has to offer. This confident outlook will only be achieved by making the Capital a safer place for women, men, and children alike.

Photo credit: wn.com

The notion of justice for women—more specifically, women’s access to justice—in India heavily relies on constitutional mandates that entrust the police with the role of ensuring that crimes against women are reported and investigated. According to a Thompson Reuters poll from just this year, India is the 4^th most dangerous place in the world for women. Clearly, the extent to which India has attained success in guaranteeing the safety of and providing a sense of security to its women remains highly debatable.

Last week, Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee announced its plan to set up 65 all-woman police stations across 20 state districts. While the world’s first all-women police station was set up in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1985, India was not far behind in launching its very own all-women police stations in the state of Tamil Nadu under the Jayalalitha government in 1992. Yet two decades later, the lack of strategic and visionary thinking has stalled the creation of these police stations all over India.

Like in Tamil Nadu and following the creation of one such station in Chandigargh, the upcoming all-women police stations in West Bengal will make it possible for women officers to investigate crimes against women—and for victims of such crimes to be attended to by women officers. According to the Chief Minister, these police stations will deal with increasing crimes against women and encourage women to join the police force.

Police stations in India are notoriously hostile environments, leaving some victims feeling less secure than before their visit. In particular, victims of rape, sexual harassment and trafficking have reported revictimisation by the very police officers tasked with helping them. In the largely patriarchal Indian society, most women still consider discussing personal or sexual matters with a stranger—especially a man—improper.

For these reasons and more, the CSR team is excited to see the all-women police station initiative taking root in West Bengal. In a recent discussion, our Director Dr. Ranjana Kumari commented that as a “leading light,” Calcutta will hopefully inspire the Government of India to implement the same all-women police stations nationwide. These stations, Dr. Kumari said, “will lead to gender sensitised policing and also give confidence and a higher comfort level to women to come forward and share their grievances with the police.”

On the one hand, all-women police stations might seem like a short-term, top-down fix to deeper and more widespread gender imbalances—much like women-only metro cars soothe the symptoms of patriarchy, not abolish its root causes. Admittedly, CSR’s own Gender Training Institute works with Delhi’s South District Police Force in a more long-term, bottom-up approach to gender justice in law enforcement: implementing station-by-station gender sensitisation training courses for both men and women police officers.

However, gender sensitisation is an ongoing and gradual process, with the final product impossible to perfectly determine ahead of time. So while all-women police stations don’t address the root causes of inequity, they are likely one vital component of a more inclusive, long-term strategy toward ensuring women receive the justice they deserve. Not to mention that these stations, which basically effect a quota, will allow more women to pursue careers in the police force, still a deeply patriarchal institution itself.

It’s important to ensure that the police personnel in these all women police stations are well equipped to handle the magnitude of cases that could pour into these police stations and should be specially trained in tacking issues of violence against women. Hence providing women victims with comfortable environments via all-women police stations, equipping women and men in the police force with better facilities to tackle gender based violence, and endeavouring to make wider and more long-lasting change through gender sensitisation of police officers will have to go hand in hand to transform India into a country where crime victims of all genders access and receive justice.

I Stand for Safe Delhi, CSR’s latest public campaign, brings awareness and knowledge to the streets in hope of transforming the streets. The campaign focuses on socially sensitive topics of women’s safety in public spaces, sexual harassment and gender-based violence in an effort to change mindsets and urge action taking on the part of bystanders who often turn a blind eye.

We’d been preparing all week: Painting signs and designing pamphlets; calling volunteers and the media; designing makeup and props; securing police permission and scouting locations; and writing and rehearsing CSR’s first major street play appearance.

Finally, on June 2^nd, our office team joined up with volunteers and community friends to kick off the campaign in the densely populated central Sarojini Nagar (market). More than 60 volunteers gathered in “I Stand for Safe Delhi” shirts while chanting encouragement to the crowd and carrying signs with different statements, including “Safety, My Right!”, “Speak Up” and “Choose Courage”, among others. Just down the street, even more volunteers were preparing makeup, costumes and props for their secret street play.

Bearing the bold sign “Stand, Speak, Act”, CSR Director Dr. Ranjana Kumari led the procession with volunteers and CSR team members following and chanting their way down the market road. The volunteers then came to a halt and formed a large circle in the centre of the market: Covering their eyes and mouths with black blindfolds, the volunteers represented the general population in Delhi, who so often turn their eyes and keep silent when they witness someone being hurt or harassed in public.

In costumes and elaborate makeup and armed with a range of props, the I Stand for Safe Delhi acting troupe—composed of CSR staff members, interns, volunteers and friends from the community—ran, danced and stomped their way to the centre of our makeshift stage. For the next five minutes, the crowd was engrossed and quieter than we’ve ever seen 500 congregating Delhiites before! The troupe performed three lively and powerful short plays about sexual harassment of women under three common settings; a marketplace, a public transit bus and a dark street during night time.

Contrasted to a conventional theatre or auditorium, the roundabout theatre we created that day was simple and low budget, yet still able to attract a surprisingly vast and focused crowd from all ends of the street. Believe it or not, our biggest shock was just how polite and attentive our makeshift audience remained throughout: Even after the plays had ended, hundreds of observers continued standing in place while transfixed and silent, waiting for more! Equally mesmerized, to our delight (and let’s be honest, surprise), were the local police. They actively engaged in discussions with volunteers between scenes and warmly applauded at the “curtain close” marked by the fall of a bleeding victim.

To capitalize on the audience’s interest, we ended by distributing flyers and pamphlets detailing how victims and bystanders of sexual harassment can safely and effectively take action in such a situation.

Stay tuned for news about more I Stand for Safe Delhi street play performances: We’re in talks to partner up with a few of our favorite educational institutions and community-based organisations to take I Stand for Safe Delhi across the city.

As Delhi commuters eager to start their weekends rushed home on May 6, the local organization “Please Mend the Gap” staged their second “flash mob” with volunteers and activists—including many of our very own staff members and interns—calling to end sexual harassment on the Delhi Metro and promote gender equality in public spaces. For this flash mob event, more than 40 supporters donned yellow t-shirts with colourful slogans like “Real Men Respect Women” and “Share Don’t Stare” before lining up for thousands of passengers to watch at Rajiv Chowk, Yamuna Bank and other Blue Line metro stations across Delhi.

The Please Mend the Gap movement was started just earlier this year by a small group of determined individuals who decided that it was time for people to learn to respect their fellow public transportation passengers, sharing spaces and not just “minding” the gap but “mending” the (gender) gap, too.

With more and more women living independent lives and working away from home, many face uncomfortable journeys around the city as they commute. Simply getting home after work should not be an added trial at the end of a long day; men should be able to share public spaces with women without subjecting them to stares, groping, harassment and assault.

To find out more about upcoming flash mobs and gatherings, visit Please Mend the Gap’s Facebook page. Hopefully we’ll see some of you at the next event!

Last week, Arunima Sinha, a nationally ranked athlete, was pushed out of a moving train by men attempting to rip a gold necklace off her body. Arunima not only had her left leg amputated, but is also suffering from an infection in the amputated leg stump, a number of fractures in her right leg and a spinal injury. Yet, despite all that she has experienced due to the lack of safety in public transportation, the Government Railway Police are questioning Arunima’s story.

Government Railway Police office A.K. Jain claimed that their investigation has shown Arunima to be “disturbed” and that she “either attempted suicide or met with an accident.” Jain’s statement comes just a few days after the Allahabad high court directed Indian Railways to pay her Rs. 5 lakh (more than $11,000 USD) as compensation.

Even though the Railways aid for Arunima’s initial treatment and even offered her a job, representative now claim that Arunima’s story is completely untrue, containing loopholes and missing facts. Unbelievably, it still remains to be seen what steps the Government Railway Police have taken to catch the “chain snatchers” responsible for pushing Arunima off the train in the first place.

Rather than taking responsibility for the lack of safety measures and services available to women passengers on Indian railways, the Government Railway Police have instead resorted to questioning the mental health of the victim. It seems they haven’t yet realized that the coherency and courage Arunima has shown since her traumatic accident is proof itself of just how mentally stable she is.

Thousands of women in India can sympathize with Arunima’s plight, because they also faced danger and harassment in trains and other forms of public transportation. Indian Railways’ Annual Statistical Statements reported a rise in crime figures, yet action taken against criminals on the railways is on the decline! The Railways has a full right to administer a probe into Arunima’s case and negotiate an appropriate compensation. However, accusing a victim for being mentally unstable without actually backing up those claims with evidence or witnesses is disappointing and ethically plain wrong.

All of this begs the question: Will Arunima’s story become yet another example of a woman being blamed for the increase in crimes against women, or the lack of sufficient policing in public spaces?

By Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director of Centre for Social Research

Dhaula Kuan, a neighbourhood in South West Delhi, is well known for a few things: containing the south campus of the University of Delhi, being situated at the crossroads of five major thoroughfares, and hosting two major housing developments filled with young, working women. A quick Google search reveals much more: media reports of rape, kidnap, murder and molestation. The most recent case to be added to this abysmal pattern is the murder of Delhi University student Radhika Tanwar.

The socio-economic structure, the way the population is laid out, the lighting and the infrastructure are all contributors to the emergence of crime in these areas. However, inadequate and unresponsive policing remain significant contributors to the prevalence of Violence Against Women in the neighbourhood. November 2010 brought to light the inefficiency of Dhaula Kuan’s police force when a female BPO (business process outsourcing) employee was gang raped in her housing complex. Last year, the Hindustan Times uncovered nearly 20 rape cases in Dhaula Kuan that were either withdrawn or never reported.

What’s happening now is that the police lack firmness in controlling the crime rate, so there is a trust deficit forming. There remains a need for proper police training and especially for more women in the police force; additional female police officers may ease some women’s concerns about approaching the police. To date, the number of women in the police across Delhi remains pathetically low. As most of us are now aware, Radhika Tanwar was stalked for two years without informing the police. Young girls and women of all ages feel that their freedom will be curtailed if they confide in their parents or other family members, but parents should immediately call the police and take action rather than blaming their daughter and inhibiting her freedoms.

Not informing the authorities wasn’t the only problem in this case. The lack of witnesses that have come forth regarding the murder that took place in broad daylight on a crowded footbridge further demonstrates Delhi’s slow response to crimes against women. When Delhi as a city lacks a culture of respect for women, people don’t come forward to help when someone is in distress. Also, India lacks a witness protection program; rather, witnesses are harassed by the police and often even blamed for the crime.

The tragedy of Radhika Tanwar’s murder reminds us once again that the Delhi government must stop blaming the police and begin actively collaborating with and making positive changes in the police force.