Post Disha case, city women take charge of their safety

It has been a month since the horrific rape and murder of Disha, the Hyderabad-based veterinarian, that shook the conscience of the entire country and led to nationwide protests. While the ongoing CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests have since dominated headlines and it seems like people have gotten back to their daily routine, life’s just not the same for them, say Hyderabad’s women folk.The chilling nature of the crime continues to haunt them; they are constantly looking over their shoulder; they’re wary of strangers; they are looking for signs of danger everywhere. In short, they always have their guard up. But something’s changed post the Disha case. a large number of city women have decided not to end up as sitting ducks for potential criminals anymore. instead, they’re taking control of their own safety. Hyderabad Times finds how women have geared up to stay safe in the post-Disha world.

Over 6 lakh HawkEye app downloads recorded in the past one month
In just one week after Disha’s murder, the Telangana Police’s HawkEye app was downloaded by over 4 lakhs users; the number of new downloads has touched 6.33 lakhs in one month. “We got over 30,000 test calls per day from those who downloaded the app. These numbers show that our women have taken the first step towards trusting the police. We are hopeful that they will not think twice about turning to us when there is an emergency. We were more than happy to reassure them about the efficiency and utility of the app,” said a senior police official of the IT wing of Hyderabad Police. The latest version of the app has many new updates. “it appears on the home screen automatically, so that access is easy. It also comes with an in-built SOS option that gets activated if the power key is pressed three times. This feature of the app also works without an active data connection. The ‘Women Travel Made Safe’ feature lets women travellers feed the cab number so that journey can be tracked until the destination. If the cab deviates from the route, an emergency alert is sent to a police team nearby. What’s more, women travelling alone between 10 pm and 6 am will be given free rides in police vehicles to ensure that they reach their destination safely,” he adds.

Karate, Muay Thai, MMA: City women sign up for self-defence classes
Self-defence training seems to have become the top priority for many city women. Martial arts trainers in Hyderabad report that they’ve been flooded with enquries like never before. “since the unfortunate incident, my phone has been ringing incessantly. From individuals to corporates — everyone wants to find out about self-defence classes. At the request of the Police Department, I conducted a self-defence camp in Tanuku, Andhra Pradesh. There have been lots of requests to conduct workshops in Hyderabad as well,” says MI Naveed, Assistant National Coach, Muay Thai. Jayanth Reddy, a taekwondo grandmaster, seconds this. “The number of women calling to enquire about self-defence training has definitely risen in the past one month. Corporates are also calling to enquire about self-defence workshops for their female employees. Women keep asking me how many days of training is required for them to be able to take down attackers. There can’t be one answer to that question, because it depends on the individual’s fitness level. But some training is better than no training at all,” he says.

Over 600 % spike in pepper spray sales; manufacturers struggle to meet demand
For the first time since the 2012 Nirbhaya case, pepper spray sales have shot up by over 600 % according to modest estimates. “Our daily output used to be 350 bottles of pepper spray. But immediately after the Hyderabad rape and murder case, the demand went up drastically. We have had to increase production up to 8,000 bottles per day since. Just recently, we got an order for 2 lakh bottles of pepper spray with a request for it to be delivered in a week. We are struggling to meet such high demand. Usually, we see a slight spurt in sales just before Women’s Day. but this kind of demand is unprecedented,” says T Rakesh Kumar, a pepper spray manufacturer based in Kerala. Ranaa Singh, the owner of a pepper spray company in Bengaluru agrees. “Pepper spray sales had increased drastically after the Nirbhaya incident in 2012. For the first time since then, we are seeing a 600% rise in the sales. the demand is not going down. It is good for my business, but it makes me sad that things have come to this state that our women have to resort to taking every precaution possible,” he says.