An open letter to Haryana authorities.

Dear Sir/Ma’am,

I write to express my heartfelt gratitude for coming up with a such an innovative and brilliant idea to curb the incidents of rape in the city of Gurgaon. I, as a citizen of India, urge you to expedite the process of implementation of this rule at the earliest. I completely understand that banning women from working after 8 pm would benefit this city immensely and would immediately render it safe for the working women. Also, directing the employers to secure additional permission from the labour department to employ women to work after 8 pm would encourage them immensely to hire women employees. It is definitely a step towards the economic and social empowerment of women. After all, what business does a woman have working beyond 8 pm? I think, that a woman should come back home and quietly put dinner on the table and watch her serials and take care of the family to avoid getting raped. In fact, your idea of this ban has been so thoughtful that I do think you should project it as a model for the entire nation. Have you considered presenting this to the Ministry of Women and Child? They can immediately issue directions for a nation wide implementation of the same. Imagine the safety net that would be cast for all of us women if we can avoid working after 8 pm.

While we are discussing this ban through, I do think you should go all the way and take a look at the provisions in our Constitution and the Indian Penal Code. Suggest amendments to both perhaps? I mean, I understand that Part III of our Constitution contains a charter of rights which include individual liberties to citizens of India, but really why would one even think of granting the rights of freedom of movement to a woman? I mean yes, right to life and all those guarantees of non discrimination of women in the constitution and equality before law is fine, but in this day and age when men are busy raping all women, such liberties granted to women must be curbed. I agree that men are men and will always remain so. Post 8 pm, they would rape a woman and what can the state or authorities do about it? The most practical solution would be to curb all that has been granted to a woman. If only women stuck to traditions and kept wearing sarees and doled out chapatis all day, then none of this would have begun. It is also very important to carve out an exception in the Indian Penal Code. The provision on rape as it stands today strangely does not make any exception as to time, place and employment status of women. Shocking isn’t it? I wonder what the law makers were thinking in 1872! But we will let all that pass. We must focus on the issue at hand which is to immediately propose an amendment to the IPC section 375 to carve out an exception for women who are seen on streets after 8 pm and also maybe formally impose a dress code for all women for their own safety. Of course, some people will say it is terribly unconstitutional but imagine the safety it would bring for all woman kind! And crimes against women would go down and the work of the police and other authorities would be reduced to half. I agree that it is perfectly alright to rape a woman after 8 pm and in fact the state, instead of only hinting at it, should send out a concrete message to all men giving them a free hand to commit such crimes. And you must remember that such exception should not only apply to working women. It must also apply to home makers daring to step out after 8 pm, female students coming back from tuitions, girls who go for movies after 8 in the evening, girls who are out in town for a fun night, a female jogger going for a run, a female police on duty, a female doctor on duty, patients who are women, professionals who work night shifts, mothers picking up their children from birthday parties. I think I have missed a few but you must be kind enough to include all categories as possible.

I sincerely look forward to more of our ideas to empower women not only in this city but in our nation and your positive steps taken to curb the crime of rape in the country.

Yours faithfully,

A much concerned female citizen of India