Staying in Mumbai, returning home all alone late in the night is not really a big deal for me. My other friends live on the other side of the town and I feel completely safe and secure hopping into a Meru or a Uber cab. You just expect that when you call the cabs from such reliable companies you are safe in the night. I have also taken a Uber cab many a times when I had late night flights, to be greeted by a smiling driver whom I trust to take me to my destination safely. But today I am feeling scared. I don’t know if I can’t trust anyone anymore. Am I safe or ever will be.
The Uber rape case which came to light just days before the second anniversary of the Nirbahya rape case is just too shocking. I remember the candle light vigils and amount of discussions I had with my friends over the brutality which resulted in the death of the poor girl two years ago and again it has happened in Delhi.
The girl boarded a Uber cab late in the night and dozed off only to wake up to find the cab parked at a secluded corner of the capital. The driver threatened to harm her if she didn’t co-operate before raping her. He then dropped her near her house continuing with the threats. She reached home, called the cops who then tried to look for the cab. It was found abandoned and the driver was absconding. He was later arrested from his town in Uttar Pradesh. Wow! The fact that this involved a company that claims to be the safest app in the country for woman is just the tip of the iceberg.
Uber claims that all its routes are tracked by GPS. So what happened here? Why wasn’t this particular cab tracked? When the car was parked at the same stop for a long time, didn’t the Uber office get suspicious and call the driver for an update? Maybe that would have scared the driver and the crime wouldn’t have been committed. Uber also claims that they do a background check on every driver they hire; well this driver is a repeating sexual offender and was jailed for seven months in 2011. Did Uber miss it during their background check or is it just a publicity gimmick to make women feel safe!
I am outraged for the woman who was violated by a man for no fault of hers and at the same time I am scared for myself too. We talk about woman empowerment and safety for women but will we ever achieve all of this by just talking. The rapists caught in the Nirbhaya case were given capital punishment probably in the hopes of scaring further rapists but that didn’t even last a year. Shouldn’t we start making an example out of all the rapists, at least the ones who are getting convicted? I am tired of constantly living with the fear of being raped or molested. I am tired of those eyes which mentally undress me on the road or the hands that attempt to grope me at every opportunity. How long do I suffer like this just because men can’t stop looking or touching or pinching or grabbing or just follow you because it gives them pleasure? Women are still getting raped and men are getting away with it. When will it stop? Will I or any other women ever feel safe to step out of the house
Image courtesy: BCCL
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