New Delhi: As Delhi gets ready to elect a new Assembly, one of the most important issues is of women security. While Delhi has always been a very unsafe city for women, the issue exploded into prominence with the December 16, 2012 Nirbhaya incident and the recent Uber rape cases.
After the December 16 gangrape in the national capital, the Congress government in Delhi had launched a '181' helpline number for women. Even as the then government claimed it had taken several steps to ensure better security for women, the situation has not changed much. Congress leaders also allege that the 181 helpline was shutdown after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power in December 2013.
Delhi still witnesses many cases of sexual harassment, molestation and rapes every day. With several cases of crime against women being reported in Delhi, people are demanding concrete steps from the political and administrative class to ensure their safety.
Saloni Walia, a 19-year-old Delhi University student, said, "It's difficult to point out any girl who has not faced eve teasing. It has become a battle of respect and life for us. All these political parties only talk, they don't really have a road map to deal with this problem."
"Women security is surely a crucial issue in this election season. The lazy attitude of the government towards women security needs to change. Women constables should be deployed outside colleges, metro stations and bus stands. Proper street lights, CCTV cameras are also a necessity," Amritha Raju, a 22-year-old law student said.
With people demanding better law and order, the political class is also claiming to have taken some steps.
Speaking about Congress's 'Awaz Uthao Campaign' which was launched in the city in 2011 on the occasion of International Women's Day to address the safety concerns of women, senior party leader Kiran Walia said, "Our party is working on this programme since the time it was launched. A NGO called as Jagori is also providing training on gender issues, safety audits and laws related to sexual abuse."
"Congress has always worked for women empowerment. Security of women has always been our main concern. The women's distress helpline number launched by our party was shut down by AAP. If they were incapable of managing that service, they should have shifted it to the Lieutenant Governor," she said.
"Last year (2014) a delegation of Delhi Congress leaders met Chief Secretary SK Srivastava and discussed this issue. The delegation was led by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) Chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and I along with other leaders accompanied him," Walia said.
Launching a scathing attack on AAP, Walia said, "Our party is not like AAP, they have not been committed to a single thing. They just created a mess and now they are again in race for another experiment."
But AAP leader and former minister Rakhi Birla defended her party. Rakhi, who will be contesting from Mangolpuri seat said, "All this is a lie. We never stopped any women's helpline number in fact we enhanced it. Security of women is our party's main concern."
With an eye on elections, Alka Lamba, the AAP candidate from Chandni Chowk, has made women security her top agenda. "We will give self-defence training to 17,000 women professionals. Women constables will be deployed outside colleges. I was also a Delhi University student and I know what happens outside colleges. I am aware of the problems girls face while travelling through public transport. Me and my party will work on all these problems and will make Delhi a safer city for women."
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