This Article is From Feb 21, 2011

Delhi unsafe for women, agrees Speaker

New Delhi: Rising crime against working women in Delhi has finally caught the eye of Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. She has joined the list of those who say women are not safe in Delhi.

And acting on the Speaker's concern, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued a circular asking women working in Parliament to be careful.

Also, all women working in Parliament will now be dropped home - in official vehicles.

Other women Parliamentarians too share the sentiment. "A working woman in Delhi feels safe only when she is home. Before that the fear stays," said Girija Vyas, Congress MP and Chairman, National Commission for (NCW).

The Speaker's circular is based apparently on hard facts. Alarmed by recent incidents, she asked for statistics of crime against women in Delhi which make for grim reading.

In 2010, there were over 500 women raped in Delhi, almost three times higher than Mumbai which had 182 cases. There has also been a 27 percent rise in kidnapping and sexual harassment - of working women - all on their way to work or back. This spurred her to act.

The Speaker's circular is a virtual indictment of Delhi's law and order situation - a contentious issue between the Delhi government and the Home Ministry. Sheila Dikshit's old complaint is that she gets the blame for the crimes, while the city police is controlled by the Centre.

"This issue has to be sorted out. The crimes are rising while the powers of a state are undefined," BJP MP Yashodhara Raje said.

Home Ministry sources say that fresh moves like increased patrolling, setting up of a helpline number and even an anti-stalking cell have helped. But the Speaker's move is a wake-up call, not just for Delhi police but the national capital.

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