What does safety mean for women?
Women's safety can be described as protection from unwanted or dangerous things/people. Safety includes a lot in itself such as being comfortable in any public environment without having fear of some wrong happening, freedom from any kind of violence or exploitation, and respect for women's boundaries and their personal space. Safety is a feeling that comes from the inner soul where women do not feel insecure or frightened of anyone, anywhere.
Safety for women has become a major issue nowadays as the number of crimes related to women is increasing day by day irrespective of so many laws or security for them. Feeling safe in today's environment looks like something impossible we hear. Even if a woman is not safe in her own house, she can be bullied by her husband or family members, molested, harassed, or abused. So thinking about safety at the workplace or outside the house is a justified question, but do we get the answer?
Women's security is a prior and utmost requirement of today's time. They need to be protected or respected by society as the reality is that they are unsafe. Women's safety is not only an increasing concern but also a responsibility of every citizen of a country, if each citizen thinks it is their responsibility then these crimes against women might come to an end and a feeling of security can be encompassed by women.
Crimes that affect women's safety and dignity
Harassment
Physical or mental abuse of a woman is termed as harassment. It can be done in different ways such as based on color, caste, and religion, which is discrimination harassment, based on gender that is gender harassment, and based on hate or dislike. A woman feels very uncomfortable when she has to go through any of these harassments and all this hurts her dignity.
Molestation
It is similar to harassment, here a girl or Woman is sexually assaulted to outrage her modesty. Women face molestation mostly from known persons, it can be their partner, relative, or any friend. It is a type of crime where the criminal can easily degrade a woman's modesty by tying her to his malicious intentions.
Acid Attack
It is a kind of violence where Acid, a harmful substance thrown on a human face or body, deeply injures her so that part of her body becomes permanently damaged. It can also be used sometimes to torture or kill that person. It's a very heinous crime where not only does a woman lose her beauty but also loses her confidence or sometimes body parts.
Unsafe abortion
A condition where an unborn child that is in the form of a fetus is removed from a woman's womb. Sometimes it can be unsafe for a woman to get a child aborted as there can be complications in her pregnancy or after abortion many changes occur in the female body which sometimes turn out to be major issues. In some cases, abortion is done without the consent of the mother which affects a woman's Physical health, mental health, and dignity.
Honor Killing
The killing of a person by a family member or an outsider in the name of breaking their honor code. It is a punishment given to women to preserve their family's reputation and honor if she has made a mistake that could affect their social status. There can be many reasons for this like, inter-caste marriage, intimate relations, marital affairs, refusal to have sex, and victims of rape.
Rape
Having sexual relations with a woman without her consent or by using physical or mental force. It is a sexual assault that deeply impacts a woman's modesty and her mental strength. Women who encounter such issues lose confidence and even attempt suicide or are killed in the name of an honor crime.
Domestic violence
A major issue is where women are abused, bullied, beaten, forced, or even murdered by their husbands or family members. It can be because a woman tries to do something that her husband and his family do not like or in cases where a woman does not bring a dowry from her parent's house.
What are some women's safety rights which are needed?
- Right to get free legal aid if anything wrong happened with her whether she is capable or not of affording them.
- Right to defend herself from the attacker in serious situations like of attempt to murder, rape you, or throwing acid o you.
- Right, to protect herself from domestic violence against herself and file a case against the abusers under section 498.
- Right, to file a case against dowry demanders or those who abuse a girl or her family to demand dowry in any form.
- Right to not be arrested in the night time or before sunrise and not without the presence of a lady constable.
- Right to complain privately without showing or mentioning the details of the woman who wants to file a complaint against a crime herself.
- Right to take legal actions against a person who is trying to stalk a woman on the internet, or by any other means.
Conclusion
After having these rights and many laws which are made for the protection of women, such crimes related to women are not decreasing. women are being victims of these heinous crimes every day, which affects the level of safety for women. Not even a single day went without hearing about any such incident in the news. Social media, in today's time of emerging technologies, has become a way to disrespect women by uploading their private pictures or morphed pictures. Such type of activities does not give women a sense of safety in this world. every time they step out of their house, they have a fear in mind of having something unusual with them. All these Problems can be tackled if society raises its voice against such crimes and awards people with the fact that women are not an object, they are human beings who are not born to suffer.
A Dynamiclady ~ Anshika Rajput
contact - anshika@dynamiclady.in