Today went for a hair cut (i know you are wondering, I do have a bit of hair on my head) and at the salon I found a few issues of the notorious magazine “Vanitha”. I didnt want to touch it cos I knew it would make me blog for sure. Still I couldnt resist flipping a few pages.
In one of the issues there was an interview with a lady named Subhra Saxena who got first rank in the civil services examination. Check what Vanitha has highlighted.
Is the Indian situation so worse that every Indian female should carry pepper spray to defend themselves as suggested by this civil services rank holder ? If that is the case what should women in Pakistan and Bangladesh carry ? AK – 47 ? Considering the current goonda situation in Kerala we all should be carrying atleast a revolver.
And in this context I want you all to watch this video.
Yes All women should carry pepper spray. I know any woman is safe with me, but I also know plenty of guys with whom women are not safe.
And there is always the casual offences in buses, in queues, everywhere, that women have to put up with, especially the young and beautiful ones.
So in addition to pepper spray, they should also carry a pin, to discreetly tell any guy to back off with.
Comment by Swiftarrow — August 28, 2009 @ 11:05 am
Ha ha nice post Kenney, you published it very sarcastically.
Comment by iamatechie — August 28, 2009 @ 11:08 am
Hey , A good one Kenney Chetta .. . The video truely addded more spice to the post .. .
Comment by anoopsachary — August 28, 2009 @ 11:21 am
മുടി ചൂടാ മന്നന്റെ ചോദ്യം കൊള്ളാം,,
wel itz time to get a pistol with everyone
Comment by Rubin Geo Varghese — August 28, 2009 @ 12:53 pm
i cnt understand these high profile women commenting on such issues when they wud nt hv had any rough experience in the real india society and dnt hw women live there. they might hv seen maximum a spat between two lovers at a night club that prompt them to say indian women are under dogs. for a fact indian women are not 100% safe but even men are not safe. the men might hv a slight edge over women in safety bt situation is not the worst.
Comment by krishnaraj — August 28, 2009 @ 2:24 pm
Kenny..I don’t have any comment about the articles coming in ‘vanitha’. May be Collector Alex Joseph is correct about few of the higher level lady officials. But one thing I am sure.. Whoever says, the situation of ladies is in Kerala is pathetic even though they got enough merits in constitutional level.
How many girls can walk on a road (alone) after 7:00 PM in kerala ?
Struggles in public transportation and even in cinema halls!
and you should try to compare India with Nations in the same level of India, not with Pakistan or Afganisthan where even men cannot walk in a public place even in early morning.
-B
Comment by Basil — August 28, 2009 @ 4:54 pm
The funny thing is all the men out here seem to have a say here but there is not a ‘female’ whose opinion is taken!
I agree even men are not safe but the topic here is exclusivley about pepper spray and the female gender. To all the naysayers, I pray to God with all my heart that you are born a woman in your next life and that you are laughed at every step and corner and ofcourse have biased and thrid rated movies to corroborate with and ofcourse if you ever even mention about better treatment you are immediately branded a feminist.
BTW Mr. Kenny, you mentioned Taliban where the ones doomed all because of a vagina, don’t even stand a chance. India is a progressive country, how can you even compare the two!!!! Please take a more rational example.
Comment by Gayatri — August 28, 2009 @ 6:35 pm
@Basil
Ok, you tell me. What will happen if a girl walks through the road after 7pm. Arent there any girls who go out after 7 ? Are all of them being raped ?
@Gayathri
So are you saying that every female should carry pepper spray ? What % of them will have to use it ?
India is a progressive country and thats why I am saying that IAS lady is just playing to the cliche.
Comment by Kenney Jacob — August 28, 2009 @ 6:45 pm
i luved the video… i guess dialogues were by renji paniker…
Comment by Varun Anand — August 28, 2009 @ 7:08 pm
Hmm I don’t know, I don’t think there’s anything wrong in women carrying pepper spray…
Comment by | Balu | — August 28, 2009 @ 9:13 pm
Kenny, I dont see a cliche in that article. It is just a momentary snapshot of a larger article, so its unfair to comment on a one-sentence excerpt.
Anyway its safer for our women to carry a pepper spray or shock-gun or something like that with them while travelling alone. If it could provide a protective feeling for them, then why should we raise our voice against it?
Comment by scorpiogenius — August 29, 2009 @ 2:29 am
There is nothing wrong in a female carrying pepper spray, and like that there is nothing wrong in males carrying a knife or a gun. After all its for self protection right ?
What I am asking is… is our Indian roads so unsafe ? How many of us have got into situations where we could have used a gun ?
Is our roads that unsafe ?
Comment by Kenney Jacob — August 29, 2009 @ 6:25 am
No revolver needed. But everyone in Kerala should be trained to defend himself or herself.
Since you brought up that Goonda issue, I am going on. I planned to write an extensive article, but now giving you the idea.
Goondas are so powerful and fearsome today because 10 goondas CAN OUTNUMBER 100 onlookers – even if they are committing a crime like murder. The 100 onlookers just stay there, with knees trembling and not even able to throw a stone at the goondas.
If at least 50 of the onlookers were trained to stay right and defend themselves – at least trained to throw a stone correctly – these goondas won’t stay there. What do you think?
Goondas know the 100 or 1000 onlookers are just sloths – with pampered bodies, diabetes, heart diseases (even if they are just 30 somethings).
Practicing Kalarippayattu is essential. If everyone started practicing them, the bad people won’t be able to frustrate the community so much with their malice.
I like to know your thoughts on this one. It is because of the inability (impotence) of the majority of onlookers, that the Goondas dare to do whatever they like.
Comment by Prince John — August 29, 2009 @ 7:25 am
Every woman you know would have ATLEAST ONCE been groped in their life. How many men do you know who were threatened to be killed by a goonda?? One in a Hundred maybe??
So the two issues cannot be compared
And yes, women have to carry pepper spray in their bags because the men around them are cowards. They will do nothing even if they see a fellow passenger getting felt up by a pervert. “Why create a scene” they ask.
So yes, women should carry pepper spray because they cannot expect us Men to even show basic human compassion.
Comment by Jithin — August 29, 2009 @ 7:31 am
Ok.. lets make a comparison here. What is similar for a man as groping is to a women ? Manhandling ? I am pretty sure everyone is has been bullied or beaten up (for sure if you have been to college) atleast once in their life. should we all carry a gun ? Female harassment exists, but its just like any other crime. Just that it gets a lot of attention.
Comment by Kenney Jacob — August 29, 2009 @ 7:47 am
^^ But Kenny there is a difference. Men are much more able to defend themselves when compared to women, who are physically less stronger. So its a matter of giving their arms more strength. As someone said above female molestation is a widespread problem and the prevalence rates may be shocking. This, we cannot compare to the manhandling of men where we are at least physically up for a face off.
So it is more of a protection for the women than anything. If men start to carry arms then it is like taking the law into their own hands, so that goes into a totally different level. Look whats going on in the US where firearms could be bought for a dime at the nearest supermarket. Its like each and every country possessing a nuclear bomb in pretext of defending themselves. Where will the world head to?
Pepper-sprays and shock-guns are for a purpose, its not life threatening even to the insulter. For us men, the best thing to carry would be a Taser, if you feel strongly about it. But knives and guns in the pocket of every jeans or trousers would really be a dangerous over-reaction.
Comment by scorpiogenius — August 29, 2009 @ 3:06 pm
Everyone says about shocking rates… but how many …. most of this is based on suspicion. Some crazy females.. like the ones we have in blank noise expect to see a molester around every corner. Sorry gals… we are not that bad….
Comment by Kenney — August 29, 2009 @ 7:55 pm
Well according to the theory all men should carry a revolver or knife Bcoz the police in kerala are inept??
If everybody carrying weapons will make the world a better place then the old wild west would’ve been the safest place in the world. Currently the USA allows firearms with very minimal restrictions and we all know what happens. Isn’t taking responsibility for once and electing respectable politicians a much sensible option???
just my 2 cents (or reppees)
Comment by Sandeep — August 30, 2009 @ 6:47 pm
the same applied for women carrying pepper spray. The police is inept or what ?
Comment by Kenney Jacob — August 30, 2009 @ 11:40 pm
vanitha ku oru target audience undu, avare sukipikanum ilakkanum avar palathum ezuthum, enthina bhai vanitha vayikune?
Comment by Vineeth Jose — August 31, 2009 @ 2:48 pm
Kenny is true in asking for the numbers to justify such claims. Today we live in a society where show off and hype is the name of the game.
Just for example – yesterday NDTV spent the whole night covering the news about YSR’s Helicopter going missing – a complete news analysis about a chief minister gone missing – I still have not understood what NDTV and Burka were trying to prove!!!
Take another example – last month Sharuk Khan was stopped for questioning by the US immigration authorities – and look at how our Government, the Indian Embassy in US, the Indian media and not to let the main culprits – the Indian masses – look at how they reacted… for gods sake he was marketing his new movie “My name is Khan” which is all about the same topic.
The question is – are people/girls really so unsafe – or is it the hype?
Here we are just talking in thin air. We talk about sexual harassment so much today – Let me quote Jitin here “Every woman you know would have ATLEAST ONCE been groped in their life.” Maybe this sentence is true – may be not; but on what basis are we making this statement? do we have research figures to show? What have we as people, society/Government done to address this? has the figures come down after it had been addressed?
As a society we have this hyped approached to all our problems – we keep saying that women are being sexually harassed – but nothing is being done. Tomorrow an incident happens – the media picks it up and blows it up – and only then we all act and at that time we are ready to even ask for death penalty! Is this not what happen with Mumbai also? This is what happen with “ragging” also.
Instead of analyzing a sensitive topic like Sexual Harassment and get the public to form an opinion based on facts – the media (NDTV in this context – as I did not watch any other news channel – not to say that the others are any better) is busy analyzing the news about 1 chief minister gone missing!!!
Comment by JMJ — September 3, 2009 @ 5:05 pm
Last week manorama concluded an article series with the following message
“Girls are not safe in Kerala”
So.. who is safe in kerala ? Boys ?
Comment by Kenney — September 4, 2009 @ 4:52 am
@ JMJ
No we are not talking in the Air. Eve teasing and female molestation in buses are no secret. Better than just waiting around for a survey to proove it, you could have just done a sample survey yourself. Choose 10 women you know who you dont think would exagerate or hype the matter and ask them if they had a bad experiance while travelling in a Bus. That would answer your question
But instead if you prefer to wait and see if somebody bothers to do a survey and then take the issue seriously then this might be what you are looking for
“In a survey it held among 1200 women who travel frequently, 72 per cent of the women said theywere not safe while travelling. Sixty per cent said they had to put up with unruly behaviour from men. Sixty one per cent of the women had to travel frequently after nightfall too, and were found to be at a higher risk. Even those driving vehicles complained of men chasing them and curtailing their path. It was found that women going to movies were often pinched and kicked by men. Villages were found comparatively safer than cities and district capitals.”
So:
Fact 1: Men are Comparatively Safer in Kerala Buses.
Fact 2: Men are comparitively Safer in Kerala Streets after 9.
This doesn’t mean men are completely safe. They too can carry a can of pepper spray with them if they feel unsafe. There is no need for any of us to feel threatened by it as long as we are not planning to molest any of them.
Finally is Pepper spray the solution to the problem? I don’t think so. Its only a short term solution to the symptom. The real problem is that most men in Kerala do not respect women, objectivises them and abuses them because they know most women are weaker and wont fight back. ( I am refering to Kerala only because I don’t know for sure about other states or countries )
The solution for this problem is neither police nor pepper spray, its about cultivating respect and compassion for fellow human beings. Unfortunately that’s not something that can be done so easily
Comment by jithin — September 8, 2009 @ 12:45 pm
@Jithin
Please don’t use the stats from Vanitha, they are such bigots and will never change. Its a must for their business to publish such stats…. and it gives the reader a slight pleasure also.
And regarding the survey..I have dont precisely what you said. All except one could not give a first hand experience, or could not say for sure that something was 100% intentional. The funny fact is that they all jumped saying yes at the question “Do you think female molestation is a very common”.
What we should understand is that its a media created image that you will find a molester every corner. We are not that bad… every male just think… will you try to rape a female who is walking alone at night ?
And regarding chasing while driving… I don’t think I will ever stop if a girl is in front of me.. just because she might think im following her… if she thinks soo.. hell with her… i also want to live… I am not ready to sacrifice anything just because I am male.
Comment by Kenney Jacob — September 8, 2009 @ 1:03 pm
Ok, lemme rephrase… Most women are just paranoid and making it all up. Most women don’t get physically violated in public buses and the few that does get violated…let them go to the police or something..why should we get involved !!
Comment by jithin — September 9, 2009 @ 6:43 am
I never said we should not do anything about this problem. All I said is that the problem is hyped and men are not as bad as the media projects.
Comment by Kenney — September 9, 2009 @ 6:46 am
This is realy cool
I dont know wat to say coz its doesnt realy matter this dont change
Comment by Abhilash — September 9, 2009 @ 4:56 pm
Kenny is getting emotional perceiving that this is an article against men
Buddy, lets see it this way. We are all good, but there are some rotten apples out to spoil the tray. You don’t chase women, neither do I or the commentors in this blog. But haven’t we got the moral right to protect the physically weaker sex of our species? Its about numbers Kenny; Vanitha’s figure’s may be inflated but consider this..if 35% of women are facing abuse and violation and if they are armed with the pepper or chilli spray we may be able to reduce the figure to 20-25%.. Simples..
So Kenny, we may see it as a way to protect the image of ‘man’kind
Comment by scorpiogenius — September 9, 2009 @ 6:26 pm
@ Jithin
I have no Idea where those Stats came from… (I have never read Vanitha)… But going by those stats – “72% women dont feel safe while travelling” – that is a BIG figure – 7 out of 10 women in a bus are not safe!!! Well at least this is only about their feeling… I am not trying to make a joke out of it – but I do understand where this comes from – given India’s conservative culture…
Your next statement “60 percent have to put up with unruly behavior” – carries more weight. It means that 6 out of 10 women traveling in a have to face the problem first hand. That is serious finger pointing towards men. I dont know how many “rotten apples” are out there; look around you – I am sure you will find that the current approach employed by Woman’s group and the likes is not helping the situation at all – and nor will the pepper spray! (Human beings are supposed to be clever – that guy will come back with a pair of goggles)
I do agree with you to some extend that as a society – our approach towards women has not been the best – this is more of a cultural issue rather than men vs women issue. Let me point out that as a society it is not only men – it is also the women who are involved in this. (you just have to watch one of the prime time soaps on any channel)
And the worst thing about this issue (This is actually common for lot’s of issues in India) is the double standards employed – on one side you have a group saying that Women are the weaker sex who need the protection/help of the society – on the other side you have the same group asking for equal rights – if you did not realize – practically you cannot have both – it will just end up like the reservation issue in India – it will just be another issue that you can rake up your vote bank on.
@ Scorpiogenius
Kenney standing up for “MAN” kind …
I think we men (the good ones of-course!) should be glad that he is standing up for us… and the women should be glad that he has helped bring this topic which is otherwise – just another page in vanitha – to a broad based discussion table.
What disappoints me though is the lack of participation from the women folk … what I have generally seen is emotional outbursts blaming the blog and all the male folk who have commented on the blog for letting them down.
Comment by JMJ — September 10, 2009 @ 10:07 pm
Physical strength was the game winner in an agrarian society… There women couldn’t plough the land as well as men but they were better at other things, so they took care of the family. Man became the bread winner and for some reason he assumed his role was more important. Soon the idea got to his head, he took advantage of his brute physical strength and started shaping the society to suite his desires. He built rules and crafted religion that further subjugated women and tightened his grip over them ..he them the way he treated his bullocks…like objects that he could trade and use…lesser humans with unequal rights… and after centuries of subjugation he finally managed to make himself and the woman to believe she is inferior to him, that she cannot survive on her on, that she should never dare to stand up to A MAN.
“You don’t take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains, bring him to the starting line in a race and say, ‘you are free to compete with all others’, and still justly believe that you have been completely fair.” – US President Lyndon B Johnson.
We live in a different world today… where physical strength ideally should play little or no real role in one’s life. The only thing that matters here is the grey matter and here the women are not the Weaker Sex. They are equal. Then Why do why do they need our support?
Would you call the Palestinians any lesser than the Israelis? Do you think an average Israeli is any greater than an average Palestinian ? But still the Israeli’s control Gaza.. they have the authority to sanction construction of Jewish Settlements and destroy Palestinian settlements. Why Do you think this happens? Is it right?
Do you wish to live in a world which preaches Might is right. Would you prefer to just look the other way and say ” ah..thats a cultural problem..or…its not really all that bad..or…they are just making it all up..or..we can do nothing about it anyway” .
I am sure that is more convenient …because after all we are on the other side
Comment by jithin — September 11, 2009 @ 1:01 am
@ Jithin
I was not Dismissing the problem by saying that it is a “Cultural Problem”. You have your self explained in detail how this problem has developed over a period of time – and the solution proposed is “Pepper Spray” and “posting pictures on the Internet” (Ref: BNP)
Drawing Parallels between Israel-Palestine – why is that the war is still going on? Yea it started off with the Israelis throwing out the Palestinians – and now you have the Israelis and the Palestinians fighting for the same piece of Land that they claim is theirs – now whichever side you take – they are launching rockets, tanks, kidnapping and doing all sorts of things – and they are justifying it saying that it is for self defense & self preservation.
Same thing here – how is Pepper spray any way better than launching rockets? It is so kiddish and so immature – he beat me – so I am also going to beat him. An eye for an eye policy will never solve the problem till everyone in the town is blind.
And nor will giving the man; who has been hobbled by chains for centuries; a head start of half way or more help! They are still going to loose the race! Reservations have only managed to reverse the Discrimination – my forefathers discriminated your forefathers so now you will discriminate me – no sir two wrongs don’t make a right!
I earlier mentioned that this problem is a cultural problem – that is because catching and punishing the culprits is not enough, you need to educate the people about this problem – so that there is a shift in the view of the society that women are the weaker sex.
It is more convinient to rather not comment rather than dismis it as “another problem” and Yes I am on the other side – and just because I am on the other side does not mean that in the race I have to bend double and carry you to the finish line…
Comment by JMJ — September 12, 2009 @ 8:52 pm
Scary world yess! But if bangladeshi women is allowed to have guns… heeee~ I can’t imagine that, then the goonda men might force their wives to do more work or get other girls. And there are goonda ladies out there. Scary~
Comment by Smeetoz — September 15, 2009 @ 9:55 pm
I see a lot of discussion here.. thought of adding a few points
Girls / Women who are poor to middle class are not safe. Period..So laws were created to ensure their safety. Unfortunately they can’t use the law as the people who commit the mistakes / crimes are least bothered about going to Jail or anything on that sort.. and even for that matter.. Police enjoy harassing them as well….and hence its better for them to avoid and forget whatever happened or hapening to them… Also these gundas, useless pranks will not keep quiet when they return from jail.. will ensure that the girl/women in question is screwed to the worst level. Having said this, the women in higher middle class, rich class use these laws for personal agenda .. spread feminism .. they would never understand whats the meaning of difficulty ..what’s the meaning to get beaten by hockey stick and see how the makeup fits the face next day… but will keep on saying that they are not equal and make innocent men’s lives miserable.
Next steps:
1. Law should be there .. but there should be thorough investigation and no corruption and immediate justice should be ensured.. This is pretty difficult theme for India
2. India needs a revolution.. just like French revolution… we need good Politicians, Law enforcement officers and Judicial system.. only then we can talk about comparing ourselves to developing countries… otherwise we are better off to compare with Africa .. where finding one women who is not raped is a rarity..
Comment by MDM — September 28, 2010 @ 6:39 am
Every woman should carry pepper spray. that is much needed especially in kerala, and very especially in Trivandrum.
Comment by jina — July 30, 2011 @ 4:45 pm