Click to play videoNew Delhi: The cold-blooded murder of TV journalist, Soumya Vishwanathan in the wee hours in the Capital significantly highlights the question of who should take responsibility for safety of women working in a 24x7 environment?
Something so violent happening to a girl who was so friendly and kind is really a pity.
Media professional Mansi Jhingran says, “Soumya's killing has raised several dilemmas. Her work too requires her to travel at odd hours and the pressure from anxious family and friends is mounting.”
“The need to be ‘more careful’ and ‘don't go out late at night’ is more than justified but how can one prevent that when one works in a profession which requires odd hours of traveling?” says Jhingran.
The sense of insecurity is not misplaced, especially if she goes by her past experiences.
“In my earlier company, I used to travel back at 3 am at night in the office cab. I've had a bad experience even then. The driver almost had an accident as he was drunk,” recalls Jhingran.
The pressures of a 24x7 working environment now cuts across almost all professions. Travelling late at night is a necessity and not a choice.
That leads us to the next logical question. How does a women travelling late at night and travelling odd hours feel secure on the Capital's roads?
HR heads in many companies acknowledge this growing need for security.
HR Head, Network 18, Rajneesh Singh says, “Guards accompany lady employee homes, sending vehicles behind employees driving back home.”
As far as policing goes experts say the approach needs to be more collaborative.
Former police officer Kiran Bedi feels that the civic agencies need to make sure that there are well lit streets, use radio connectivity, and female employees need to be connected to their companies while travelling.
Until assurances become concrete steps, the lurking fear will be hard to shut out each time a working woman heads home at night.
(with inputs from Neha Seth)
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