No country for women?

After a two-year break engendered by the pandemic, people across the state welcomed the new year with renewed fervour and heightened expectations. This enthusiasm and sense of humanity, however, was not enough to spare several women from bitter experiences at public events. 

The Cochin Carnival in Fort Kochi, where a larger-than-expected crowd gathered for New Year’s Eve celebrations, including many families and children, was witness to many chaotic scenes. Some disturbing testimonies were shared by women who were present to welcome 2023.  

“We were groped and grabbed several times while waiting to watch the burning of Pappanji (the effigy of an old man believed to represent Father Time) at the venue,” said Anamika, a journalist (name changed), sharing her ordeal. “Like everyone, we were also excited. I was accompanied by four friends. As expected, people thronged the venue. We were standing right in front, at a safe distance from the effigy. Since it was packed, we were unable to move much.”  

However, what happened next was very disturbing. “We felt many hands over our body, touching us inappropriately. We caught some people red-handed and even shouted at them. However, they didn’t show any remorse and kept at it. We decided to move to the back of the crowd. However, some boys started grabbing and groping us while we made our way,” recounts Anamika.  

Another issue they faced was the lack of transportation facilities. “After the event was over, we headed to the boat jetty to board the ferry for the mainland as boat services were scheduled to run till 3am in view of the celebrations. But, when we reached the spot, we were disappointed to know that the next service was only available at 5am. Thus, we were left stranded and it was after several hours that we finally reached home,” she said.   

Despite all the confusion and commotion, the organisers of the Cochin Carnival were trying hard to wash their hands of the events that transpired, reiterating that nothing untoward was reported though the crowd was something they hadn’t expected. This, one of the organisers said, led to the near-stampede. 
“To control traffic, police had set up barricades at Willingdon Island itself and no private vehicles were allowed near the venue. Many people parked their vehicles in Thoppumpady and walked to the venue.”  
“According to police, patrolling was strengthened and female officers were deployed for the safety of the women who turned up,” he added.  

A top officer with the Mattancherry crime branch said, “No cases of  eve-teasing or molestation were reported during the celebrations in Fort Kochi.” Another officer said, “For the safety of people arriving at the event, 20 extra CCTV cameras were installed. Even drones were deployed by the Navy.”   
 
 

Not a one-off
This, regretfully, was not a one-off. Women have been facing such situations almost every day. And sadly, these incidents happen even during the daytime. In an incident that was covered widely by media, a 36-year-old was sexually assaulted by an unidentified man in the Museum compound in Thiruvananthapuram during her morning walk last October.  

Harsha M, 26, was born and brought up in the city. “However, to date, I have never been comfortable walking the streets alone. I always gaze down and am constantly on the lookout. From creepy stares to eve-teasing and groping, I have been through it all,” she says.

A techie, Harsha remembers the days she used to take a bus from Statue to Kazhakoottam. “Even in the morning, men used to pass comments. Some even approach me directly and comment about my dress. I don’t know how they get so audacious. Why should they care about how I dress? The funny thing is, due to years of bad stares I never dress the way I want to. Even when I am wearing office clothes, men pass comments,” she adds.

“Men generally look at women as an object rather than human beings. That’s where the issue stems from,” Harsha feels. Riya Cherada, who is a colleague of Harsha adds, “Also, it costs a lot of money to be safe.” She gives examples. “While going home, I travel in sleeper class rather than the general compartment since I don’t want to be groped. I cannot predict whether it will happen on this trip or the coming one. So, why take the chance? Then, for nearby trips, you take an Uber instead of taking public transport. It all costs money. And at the end of the day, it is an unfair thing to be asked of women,” she says.

Riya adds that all the negative experiences the majority of the women faces makes them wary when meeting men — be it a colleague, a friend’s friend etc. “Your natural state is of suspicion. Since we cannot predict whether that particular person will misbehave or not. Which is also unfair to both men and women.”

Women and pooram
In May, a video went viral of a woman, Krishnapriya, shedding happy tears while enjoying Thrissur Pooram. “I have been to the Pooram before, but had never been able to witness it up close, with crowds of men taking up the prime spots. Though many lewd comments were passed on me and my friend (Sudeep), we walked to the main arena,” says the resident of Mannuthy, Thrissur.

She laments that often women are discouraged by their families from attending public gatherings. “ This is something we have been facing every day. Though there are several helplines for the safety of women, I don’t think we have been getting any protection, especially during late hours. Hence, we have to take care of our safety.”  

Krishnapriya, who works for an advertising firm in Thrissur and is also a freelance anchor adds, “Even while anchoring, I have encountered lewd comments from men and nobody bothers to even act against them.”  

Dangers of stalking 
Young poet Aleena from Kochi speaks about a stalking experience she went through. “My friend and I went out to a tea shop near our flat. It was the night of World Cup football final. An open screen was showing the match and we stopped to watch the game. Two men started staring at us and later followed us to the shop. They drank tea and left at the same time as us. We saw them following us in an SUV. We knew we couldn’t go home. That will let them know our address. Our aim was to sidetrack them and somehow we reached home,” she says.

They called the police immediately after reaching home. “The police asked did something happen. Did they attack us? The police sounded uninterested as they didn’t feel stalking was such a big issue. I don’t know, should we have waited for them to attack us to file a case?” asks Aleena.

No perfect victims
Aleena says, Kochi is generally not that safe at night. “As more and more women are going out at night for work and fun, such incidents are being reported more. However, unless you’re a perfect victim, no one will care. I go out at night with friends, sometimes friends come to my house... These are enough reasons for neighbours and nearby people to think I deserve if something happens to me,” she says.
“That is why when Vismaya died people cared. She listened to her parents, got married. This idea of perfect victim is damaging to most of the women. That’s why many incidents never reach the police.”

‘Law is not enough’
According to Indira Raveendran, a member of the Kerala Women’s Commission, such cases are rampant and have always been present in society. “Unless there are specific laws to punish people for offending women in public places, the situation won’t change. However, the existing laws are only based on cases such as domestic violence, dowry, rape, and harassment at the workplace and are not specifically related to public places.” 

She also added that the attitude of society needs to change, which currently restricts women from participating in late-night events. 

Many campaigns, what’s the result? 
Last year, during International Women’s day, the Kochi City Police launched the campaign ‘Claim Your Public Place’ to spread message to women that the city and the public places are safe, and to encourage nightlife. Three places were chosen for the programme the Queen’s Walkway, Fort Kochi and Infopark. Launched as a pilot project, police protection was offered at the locations from 7pm to 1am. However, many incidents of physical assault in public places have been reported in several parts of the city.  According to the latest data from Kerala Police, 531 cases of eve-teasing have been reported in the state last year. In 2021, it was  504 cases.

Over 4,850 cases of molestation of women were recorded last year and 4,059 cases in 2021.  Meanwhile, the police claim women are vocal these days and they report misbehaviours instantly. “Kochi is one of the safest cities for women. But, if any case of violence is reported, we immediately take action. Helplines have also been provided for this. There is visible policing during night and the response time is also quick. Night patrolling has also been strengthened,” said K Sethuraman, Kochi City Police Commissioner. 

Inputs from Krishna P S

After a two-year break engendered by the pandemic, people across the state welcomed the new year with renewed fervour and heightened expectations. This enthusiasm and sense of humanity, however, was not enough to spare several women from bitter experiences at public events.  The Cochin Carnival in Fort Kochi, where a larger-than-expected crowd gathered for New Year’s Eve celebrations, including many families and children, was witness to many chaotic scenes. Some disturbing testimonies were shared by women who were present to welcome 2023.   “We were groped and grabbed several times while waiting to watch the burning of Pappanji (the effigy of an old man believed to represent Father Time) at the venue,” said Anamika, a journalist (name changed), sharing her ordeal. “Like everyone, we were also excited. I was accompanied by four friends. As expected, people thronged the venue. We were standing right in front, at a safe distance from the effigy. Since it was packed, we were unable to move much.”   However, what happened next was very disturbing. “We felt many hands over our body, touching us inappropriately. We caught some people red-handed and even shouted at them. However, they didn’t show any remorse and kept at it. We decided to move to the back of the crowd. However, some boys started grabbing and groping us while we made our way,” recounts Anamika.   Another issue they faced was the lack of transportation facilities. “After the event was over, we headed to the boat jetty to board the ferry for the mainland as boat services were scheduled to run till 3am in view of the celebrations. But, when we reached the spot, we were disappointed to know that the next service was only available at 5am. Thus, we were left stranded and it was after several hours that we finally reached home,” she said.    Despite all the confusion and commotion, the organisers of the Cochin Carnival were trying hard to wash their hands of the events that transpired, reiterating that nothing untoward was reported though the crowd was something they hadn’t expected. This, one of the organisers said, led to the near-stampede.  “To control traffic, police had set up barricades at Willingdon Island itself and no private vehicles were allowed near the venue. Many people parked their vehicles in Thoppumpady and walked to the venue.”   “According to police, patrolling was strengthened and female officers were deployed for the safety of the women who turned up,” he added.   A top officer with the Mattancherry crime branch said, “No cases of  eve-teasing or molestation were reported during the celebrations in Fort Kochi.” Another officer said, “For the safety of people arriving at the event, 20 extra CCTV cameras were installed. Even drones were deployed by the Navy.”        illus| expressNot a one-off This, regretfully, was not a one-off. Women have been facing such situations almost every day. And sadly, these incidents happen even during the daytime. In an incident that was covered widely by media, a 36-year-old was sexually assaulted by an unidentified man in the Museum compound in Thiruvananthapuram during her morning walk last October.   Harsha M, 26, was born and brought up in the city. “However, to date, I have never been comfortable walking the streets alone. I always gaze down and am constantly on the lookout. From creepy stares to eve-teasing and groping, I have been through it all,” she says. A techie, Harsha remembers the days she used to take a bus from Statue to Kazhakoottam. “Even in the morning, men used to pass comments. Some even approach me directly and comment about my dress. I don’t know how they get so audacious. Why should they care about how I dress? The funny thing is, due to years of bad stares I never dress the way I want to. Even when I am wearing office clothes, men pass comments,” she adds. “Men generally look at women as an object rather than human beings. That’s where the issue stems from,” Harsha feels. Riya Cherada, who is a colleague of Harsha adds, “Also, it costs a lot of money to be safe.” She gives examples. “While going home, I travel in sleeper class rather than the general compartment since I don’t want to be groped. I cannot predict whether it will happen on this trip or the coming one. So, why take the chance? Then, for nearby trips, you take an Uber instead of taking public transport. It all costs money. And at the end of the day, it is an unfair thing to be asked of women,” she says. Riya adds that all the negative experiences the majority of the women faces makes them wary when meeting men — be it a colleague, a friend’s friend etc. “Your natural state is of suspicion. Since we cannot predict whether that particular person will misbehave or not. Which is also unfair to both men and women.” Women and pooram In May, a video went viral of a woman, Krishnapriya, shedding happy tears while enjoying Thrissur Pooram. “I have been to the Pooram before, but had never been able to witness it up close, with crowds of men taking up the prime spots. Though many lewd comments were passed on me and my friend (Sudeep), we walked to the main arena,” says the resident of Mannuthy, Thrissur. She laments that often women are discouraged by their families from attending public gatherings. “ This is something we have been facing every day. Though there are several helplines for the safety of women, I don’t think we have been getting any protection, especially during late hours. Hence, we have to take care of our safety.”   Krishnapriya, who works for an advertising firm in Thrissur and is also a freelance anchor adds, “Even while anchoring, I have encountered lewd comments from men and nobody bothers to even act against them.”   Dangers of stalking  Young poet Aleena from Kochi speaks about a stalking experience she went through. “My friend and I went out to a tea shop near our flat. It was the night of World Cup football final. An open screen was showing the match and we stopped to watch the game. Two men started staring at us and later followed us to the shop. They drank tea and left at the same time as us. We saw them following us in an SUV. We knew we couldn’t go home. That will let them know our address. Our aim was to sidetrack them and somehow we reached home,” she says. They called the police immediately after reaching home. “The police asked did something happen. Did they attack us? The police sounded uninterested as they didn’t feel stalking was such a big issue. I don’t know, should we have waited for them to attack us to file a case?” asks Aleena. No perfect victims Aleena says, Kochi is generally not that safe at night. “As more and more women are going out at night for work and fun, such incidents are being reported more. However, unless you’re a perfect victim, no one will care. I go out at night with friends, sometimes friends come to my house... These are enough reasons for neighbours and nearby people to think I deserve if something happens to me,” she says. “That is why when Vismaya died people cared. She listened to her parents, got married. This idea of perfect victim is damaging to most of the women. That’s why many incidents never reach the police.” ‘Law is not enough’ According to Indira Raveendran, a member of the Kerala Women’s Commission, such cases are rampant and have always been present in society. “Unless there are specific laws to punish people for offending women in public places, the situation won’t change. However, the existing laws are only based on cases such as domestic violence, dowry, rape, and harassment at the workplace and are not specifically related to public places.”  She also added that the attitude of society needs to change, which currently restricts women from participating in late-night events.  Many campaigns, what’s the result?  Last year, during International Women’s day, the Kochi City Police launched the campaign ‘Claim Your Public Place’ to spread message to women that the city and the public places are safe, and to encourage nightlife. Three places were chosen for the programme the Queen’s Walkway, Fort Kochi and Infopark. Launched as a pilot project, police protection was offered at the locations from 7pm to 1am. However, many incidents of physical assault in public places have been reported in several parts of the city.  According to the latest data from Kerala Police, 531 cases of eve-teasing have been reported in the state last year. In 2021, it was  504 cases. Over 4,850 cases of molestation of women were recorded last year and 4,059 cases in 2021.  Meanwhile, the police claim women are vocal these days and they report misbehaviours instantly. “Kochi is one of the safest cities for women. But, if any case of violence is reported, we immediately take action. Helplines have also been provided for this. There is visible policing during night and the response time is also quick. Night patrolling has also been strengthened,” said K Sethuraman, Kochi City Police Commissioner.  Inputs from Krishna P S