Molestation remark: online plea seeks apology from Parameshwara

Angered by recent incidents of molestation in Bengaluru, women from other parts of the country have started online petitions on the platform Change.org, seeking better safety measures.

Mumbai-based Divya Titus, who has floated a petition, seeks an unconditional public apology from Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi and Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara for their remarks on sexual assaults.

“It is high time we treat women's right to their hobodies and to safe public spaces with the sensitivity that these issues require; and not with public sound-bites that shame them further (sic),” the petition reads.

Condemning the incident, she said the New Year’s Eve incident was an “absolute horror”. Her petition ‘Sexual Assault in Bangalore: We want an unconditional apology’ has been signed by close to 30,000 people across the country.

 In yet another petition, Saurabh Tripathi from New Delhi, has expressed anger over the recent incidents of molestation and harassment of women. “A country where women are treated as Goddess Durga, Goddess Kali and has such forms, a country where women have touched the skies with their talent and hard work, is facing an issue like women’s harassment. This is a tag of shame for the nation. Everyone talks of problems but once we find the problem, we should also try to solve it, this is what most of us lack,” Tripathi has stated.

The petition also sought starting self defence courses in schools. “The Government of India should take the initiative and make it compulsory for schools across the country to dedicate an hour or two for self defence,” the petition to the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi states.