Police guidelines irk students

It seems that after facing flak from all over the country after the December 16 gang rape case and failing to provide safety to girls and women, the Delhi Police have now totally lost the plot.

At least their activities are saying so! The recent addition in their hat is the dos’ and don’ts banner for girls in Delhi University which has landed them in a soup.

According to the banner put up outside Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), the Delhi Police has advised girls to go straight to home after classes! Not welcomed by the college authorities or students, Delhi Police has invited criticism from several quarters for this archaic and chauvinistic notion.

The advisory says that girls should follow certain guidelines to ensure their own safety. They should not board vacant buses and should go home directly after school or college. The so-called ‘advisory’, it seems is the new way for the police trying to wash its hands off the issue. Metrolife spoke to few youngsters in Delhi University to know their reactions.

Mahima Gulati, a 1st year student of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College in DU, expressed her anger. “We have the right to roam around anywhere, anytime. If boys can do so, why can’t we? What do they mean by the concept of going straight home after classes? The police is running away from the responsibility and nothing else. They are there for our safety and not there to tell us what to do and what not to do.”

Other vague guidelines state that women should not take shortcuts and use properly lit roads (what happens if the authorities have failed to provide streetlights in the area concerned?) Girls are also asked to carry mobile phones every time they step out of home.(Jyoti Pandey too was carrying her cellphone on the fateful night. Did it help?)

Another girl Payal Mansukhani, a 1st year student of Janki Devi Memorial College wants more female police personnel in police stations. “This is no solution. Guys should know how to behave with girls. There should be constables at every nook and corner of the City. The authorities should also appoint more women police personnel in the stations. I will more likely share my plight, if God forbid should something happen – with a lady cop than with a male officer.”

Instead of addressing the safety and security concerns post college hours, the police has come up with disciplinary measures. Instead of making men realise the worth and importance of women, the police is indirectly supporting the ‘weaker sex’ factor by asking them to stay behind closed doors. It seems, even the police needs sensitisation classes too.

Kartiki Gupta, another DU student slammed the police for their latest ‘action’ against crime. “The banner doesn’t make any sense. They want– the girls to go back home at 3 pm? I can’t relate to it.

They should at least start some self-defence classes in schools and colleges as that would make sense. Women are raped even at 2 pm in the afternoon. Eve-teasing is so rampant. Instead of telling us what to do, police should discourage boys to stop misbehaving with us.”