Dear Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal,
On June 14, at 9:25, a young woman was walking out of a store at the HUDA metro station, the last metro station on the Yellow Line which originates from Samaypur Badli. As she was climbing down the escalator, she felt something strange. Women, you see, have this in-built radar where we sense danger most of the times. A man was busy masturbating on her right behind her.
I was climbing down escalators just outside the store when I felt something was wrong at my back. When I turned, a guy was shagging just behind me and I realised that he masturbated on me. #gurgaonpolice #gurgaonmetro
— navneetkaur (@navneet97935900) June 17, 2019
It was at a public place – the metro station. It was not late night (not that late night is a free-pass to predators, but such excuses are usually given when women complaint of sexual harassment). And it was inside a place which is under CCTV surveillance.
Narrating her ordeal, the lady mentions how the man just ran away after flashing at her again. She explains how she was shocked such an incident happened to her inside a metro station which is supposed to be one of the safest modes of public transport for women and how the Delhi Chief Minister is trying to ‘incentivize’ women by offering them free metro rides.
This gave him a window and he ran away again flashing at me. I ran outside towards the police chowki, and it was closed ! No one was around except a few distant standing police walas making their evening with autowalas. #gurgaonpolice
— navneetkaur (@navneet97935900) June 17, 2019
She then echoes what most women who are averse to the election sop Kejriwal have offered that we don’t want free rides, we want safety.
Should it be even a concern at the first place that women should take care of their safety themselves after it gets dark? Are we so ok with harassment and molestation and rapes that we have accepted them as a part of our society? #PMNarendraModi #PMModi #arvindkejriwal #DMRC
— navneetkaur (@navneet97935900) June 17, 2019
You could perhaps give women free rides on the metro and the bus for ‘safety’, how will you ensure the women will be safe on these modes? Metro may be safer than other public transport modes, but what about the last-mile connectivity from the metro station to homes? Streetlights are often not working in darkened lanes and there are incidents of chain-snatching or robbery in such lanes. How about clearing your dues to the power companies so that they don’t make good of their threats and stop power supply to streetlights because of non-payment of dues?
Other than the fact that your idea which came from the place where the sun doesn’t shine may not even be economically feasible, but to spin it as a move to ensure ‘women safety’ is a joke bigger than the political outfit you lead.
Sincerely,
A Delhi citizen
