Making Gurgaon safer: Gurgaon women take charge of their own safety

Aurushi.Goswami@timesgroup.com
The increasing incidents of crime against women have made Gurgaon women come forward and take action for themselves. Many citizens and resident groups are working to either communicate with the authorities and urge them to implement policies to make it a safer city for women.
Attendees at the campaign were taught self-defence techniques like punching and kicking (BCCL/ Lokesh Kashyap)
Women pack a punch at self-defence campaign on Golf Course Road
Women Empowerment, Safety and Security Foundation (WESS), with the support of Gurgaon resident communities, has launched a self-defence campaign – Hamari Suraksha Hamari Zimmedari.The session on Sunday started with self-defence training at Golf Course Road. The attendees were put in several situations like robbery, molestation, gun attack or kidnapping. The session had a special demonstration of the January 21 rape case, wherein the technique to defend oneself, if an attacker tries to rob or drag the victim out of a car, was also taught.
(BCCL/ Lokesh Kashyap)
(BCCL/ Lokesh Kashyap)
This is an initiative for basic self-defence training, free of cost. Veena Gupta, Founder, WESS, said, "We need to take responsibility for our own safety. Police, friends or relatives cannot be around us all the time. Some basic techniques can be of great help if you are attacked. In this initiative, we will hold meetings every alternate week at different spots to demonstrate a possible attack situation and train people to react to them."
(BCCL/ Lokesh Kashyap)
Isha Sharma, a resident of Sector 52, who attended the session with her husband and daughter, said, "Every time my daughter steps out of the house, it scares me to even imagine what she might have to face. I came here to make sure she learns some techniques so that in case she is ever in an unfortunate situation, she can save herself."
A vigilante force for Gurgaon
A group of Gurgaon residents have started a movement called Make Gurgaon Safe For Women. The group, initiated by Priya Menon, a resident of Sector 69, aims to make citizens take action and work as a pressure group which can help make the city safer.
Founder Priya Menon and the members of the group discussed safety concerns at the meet (BCCL/ Lokesh Kashyap)
The group held its first action meeting this Sunday, which was attended by about 30 residents. Maximum stress was laid on policing. "The presence of the police naturally makes us feel safe. It’s the dark and deserted streets that make you feel unsafe. Therefore, increased policing is a necessary step," said Dr Shalini Yadav, one of the attendees and a Sector 50 resident.
Understanding the issue of understaffing in the force, the founder and attendees drew the conclusion of forming a citizen task force, where they will lay down a plan to create a vigilante force of citizens to be deployed at all concerned areas of the city to help the police force in increased patrolling across the city. "After undergoing the legal formalities and a discussion with the Commissioner of Police, we plan to have a unified citizen force for vigilance in various localities," said Priya.
Women in black start a signature campaign
Raising a collective voice against harassment and crime against women, some female residents of Park Place, DLF phase IV, Gurgaon went door to door across nine condominiums in Gurgaon with a letter addressed to the chief minister, mayor, deputy mayor and the police commissioner.
The group explained the campaign to residents and men and women of all age groups signed the campaign papers (BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam)
The group of ladies managed to get over 500 signatures in three days, starting Wednesday (January 24), on the campaign letter that states the troubles that women are facing on the streets of the Millennium City, along with six correctional demands.
A group of ten women from Park Place led this citizen initiative backed by another 30 ladies across others localities. The women wore black while running the campaign, in sync with the voices being raised across the globe regarding the issue. The letter includes demands like availability of streets lights on all major and minor streets, increased patrolling and presence of police vans post 6pm, CCTV cameras at all major crossroads in Gurgaon, rigorous punishment and publicity of punishment for rapists as a deterrent to other offenders and making women safety a priority in police policy making.
(BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam)
Neelam Nagpal, one of the volunteers, said, "We are getting more signatures to make this a larger voice. To make authorities understand that women from all walks are concerned and raising their voice against the crisis." Another volunteer, Shilpi Mathur, said, "One of the factors we are trying to highlight is that Gurgaon has high-security condominiums, but the moment we step out on the street, we feel lucky if we return home without being harassed."
(BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam)
(BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam)