Fear grips women, children in city


Life has not been the same for Preetha, a housewife in Thrikkannapuram, ever since an incident that took place last week. Fear began to creep into her after her daughter, a plus-one student of a city school, complained about a stranger who was following her frequently on her way home from tuition class, that too during daytime. “Last week, she ran away after throwing a stone at him. From that day onwards, I pick her up in my scooter from the bus stop, which is hardly a ten-minute walk from our house. It was a real shock that even our own place where we have been living for years is not safe for our daughter,” said Preetha.


Preetha’s emotions are shared by hundreds of mothers in the city whose fears about the safety of their daughters have only been growing. On July 8, a migrant labourer was caught in a bid to molest a higher secondary school student when she was returning home from tuition class. It was on July 11 that another incident was reported where two women were attacked by a migrant labourer from West Bengal. On the very next day, a studio photographer at Valiyathura was held on charges of trying to molest a five-and-a-half-year old girl.



While most of the incidents are getting reported, there are others which have gone unreported. But all of them simultaneously raise the same question: are girls and women becoming more and more unsafe in the city?


“We also have severe concern over the issue and have started strengthening the police mechanism to avoid any such cases in the future,” said City Police Commissioner T J Jose, reacting to the issue. He also claimed that more vehicles and police personnel have been assigned for the task to ensure the safety of women. “At a time, there are around 20 police personnel and the same number of vehicles deployed at various points, especially in places like Poojappura, Ambalamukku, Pangode, Ayurveda College Junction and Pangode. Also, police in mufti are also on duty,” said the Commissioner.


However, the shocking attempts of attacks against women, even in daylight, have made  parents, especially mothers, panicky to the level that they even fear their own footsteps.


However, the Home Department, the Home Minister and the DGP have found comfort in the fact that crimes against women in Kerala are more owing to the fact that more cases are getting reported. But that ‘technical comfort’ provides no solace for those who have to look after their daughters and for the women who have to look after themselves.

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