Is Delhi unsafe for  women in North-East?

“We will be observing a National Shame Day across the country, hopefully coinciding with the Women’s day March 8, to tell people that women must be respected.”

Almost half the women sexually harassed in the Indian capital and its neighbourhood are from the North-East, says the North East Support Centre. Two sisters from Manipur who were molested and beaten up recently were only the latest victims from the region.

Madhu Chandra, the man behind the Northeast Support Centre and Helpline, a help centre dedicated to youth from the North East living in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), said they were flooded with complaints related to sexual harassment.

“It’s been just three months since we launched the Northeast Support Centre and we have received more than 10 reports of sexual harassment,” Chandra informed.

“From what we have researched and according to media reports, we have found that nearly 50 percent of the cases of sexual harassment are targeted at women from the North- East.”

The Delhi-NCR region has nearly 85,000 people from the North-East. More than 4,000 northeastern youth take admission to various undergraduate and other courses in Delhi University every year.

Chandana Saikia from Assam, who graduated from Delhi University and is now working in a public relations firm in the capital said that even after seven years of staying in this city, she didn’t feel safe or secure.

“Every other day we keep hearing of cases of molestation and sexual harassment in Delhi. Although I take all of this in my stride, my parents back at home are always worried and give me panic calls if they can’t get through my phone,” Saikia informed.

“But despite giving everyone an impression that nothing scares me, I am always on my guard. Even after seven years of staying in the capital, I don’t feel at home here,” she added.

Similarly, Lara Subba from Manipur, who lives with her friend in north Delhi, said she doesn’t feel secure in the capital at all and constantly feels threatened.

“The other day I and my friend were coming in a rickshaw when two men started following us, calling us ‘chinkies’ and passing lewd remarks. Scared, I started screaming at the top of my voice, which made them change their route,” Subba said.

“Just because we look different and wear more Western outfits, people think that they can take us for granted. That’s why we usually stick together, with people from our own community.”

In May 2005, a 19-year-old Delhi University student from the North-East was raped by four men in a moving car after dragging her from a roadside eatery in south Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan area. The sensational case made headlines for days.

Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research and president of Women Power Connect (WPC), said this issue is more prevalent in the northern belt because of the mindset of the men.

“In the northern belt, the mindset is such that the men believe they can control women physically. That’s why they can’t stand the freedom of sexuality that men and women in the North East enjoy,” Kumari said.

“There’s no way out of this problem but for women to take charge of these issues.

“In this regard, we will be observing a National Shame Day across the country, hopefully coinciding with the Women’s day March 8, to tell people that women must be respected.”

DC Srivastava, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, north Delhi, however, said that in the past year-and-a-half, they have registered just two cases of sexual harassment against northeastern women. “The number of such cases is not that high,” he said.

Molestation victims fail to move cops for 40 hours

The Delhi police has once again proved itself of being hostile towards the women residents of the city as the police took more than 40 hours to finally listen to two victims of molestation.

Two girls from Manipur were molested and physically manhandled in the Gandhi Vihar area near Delhi University on Saturday. The incident took place when 18-year-old victim was going towards a cyber café, owned by her sister, and two men started following her while passing lewd comments.

On reaching the café, the victim recited the incident to her 20-year-old sister, who slapped one of the alleged accused. Subsequently, almost 20 drunken goons gathered outside their café and started beating the two victims. Their brother was also manhandled, after he tried to intervene.

“When the girls approached the police, the police personnel refused to register their FIR,” said Madhu Chandra, spokesperson of the Northeast Support Centre. “Eventually, the victims turned towards us for help. However, the sub-inspector refused to take formal notice of the incident even after our intervention.”

“It has been more than 40 hours when finally, today afternoon, the complaint was registered, after the story appeared in media,” said Chandra. “We did not know where to go besides the media, which was our last resort.”

According to Chandra, the police personnel bluntly escaped their responsibility. “They asked us to identify the accused first. When it is their duty to arrest the accused, how can you say no to lodging an FIR on such grounds.”

“This is a shameful event,” said Kirti Singh, a well-known lawyer and social activist. “There was enough ground for the police to register an FIR. These people will have to made accountable and government of the capital must ensure that.”

Delhi University area has become particularly unsafe for women. Recently, girl students from Indraprastha College were molested on the campus. “Adequate arrangements should be made to ensure the safety of women around that area,” said Kirti. “Though, one has to sensitise the police towards such cases, primarily.”

Meanwhile, 85,000 youngsters from the Northeast residing in the city find themselves more vulnerable. “We are not saying that things like this do not happen to anybody else but according to our data almost 50 per cent of the sexual harassment victims in the NCR are from Northeast,” said Chandra.

Two N-E girls allegedly molested near DU

In a case reminiscent of the recent molestation of two NRI women in Mumbai, two girls hailing from Manipur were allegedly molested and threatened by about 25 inebriated youths near Delhi University.

The incident took place at a cyber cafe owned by one of the girls in north Delhi’s Gandhi Vihar locality at around 9 pm on. But police have so far refused to register a complaint, the girls said.

The girls, who are sisters, alleged that a crowd of about 25 men came to the shop and started showering abuses and even physically attacked them and their brother.

The youths, who also threatened to burn the shop, said women from the North-East were spreading “immorality” in the capital and asked them to leave the place, the sisters claimed.

A senior police official said the chain of events started around 7.30 pm when the 18-year-old younger sister went to a nearby market to buy vegetables.

Two men on a motorcycle started passing lewd comments and tried to molest her, the girls said. She resisted their attempts and narrated the incident to her elder sister.

Half an hour later, two youth came to their cyber cafe and entered into a heated argument with them. The girls claimed that the men also beat them up before leaving the spot.

“My sister had gone to the market, while returning back home she was followed by two men who started passing lewd comments. I first ignored it when she narrated the incident but after some time two men came and started abusing us,” the elder sister said.

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