N-E women in Delhi a doubly cursed lot OINAM SUNIL
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2005 12:27:50 AM ]
Sign into earnIndiatimes points
GUWAHATI: It is no secret that Delhi is perhaps the most unsafe city for women in India. What many don't realise, however, is that some women are more vulnerable than others by virtue of their alien physical features, language and culture.
Women from the North-East, clubbed together by most as "chinkys", have it tougher than many of their peers in schools, colleges and workplaces in the Capital.
"I am here for a short break, and now that the issue has been raised, let me put what I feel about Delhi like this: that place violates me in numerous ways," says Susan Kharpran, a 22-year-old working at a call centre. "People just think we are available."
Girls from N-E, who have either studied in Delhi or worked there, have awful memories about the city.
Another girl, a master's degree holder from JNU, says it was "absolutely nightmarish" travelling by bus from her campus to certain libraries in CP. "Even the conductors try to act funny with us. And the worst thing is that there seems to be no protection for those who are already hindered by their inability to speak in Hindi, or for that matter, by their faces."
In Kohima, Naga girl Kevingunuo, 24, said: "It was sometime in 2001 that I was nearly molested by two guys at Janpath.
Fortunately, an excursion team comprising both boys and girls from Nagaland came to my rescue."
Now working for a private firm in Bangalore, Kevinguno says: "The South is far better. Of course, we can't remain in the N-E and have to come to Delhi for work and studies, but none of us feels safe here. We are doubly cursed. First, we are women, and then we are N-E women."
The story is the same for Mizo girl Zenifer Lallianpuii (The N-E, by the way, has 8 states, including Sikkim, and "chinkys" from each state are as different from each other as Gujaratis from Tamilians). A student at Lady Sriram College, Zenifer said in Aizawl, "We feel insecure going out alone for shopping or hang-outs. Even in crowded markets there are these guys who will try to molest us. Something like this will never happen anywhere in the N-E. We are so proud of that."
Romi Kakaty (name changed), an Assamese working with an international NGO in the Capital, thinks "Delhi as a whole is not at all safe for women. But speaking of people from the North-East, I would say that the region as a whole is seen differently by Delhiites. They still think we are outsiders, that they can do anything with us and get away with it. The police, too, are unfriendly. It is useless going to them for help. We are at a disadvantage from all sides."
_______________________________________________ Assam mailing list [email protected] http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam
Mailing list FAQ: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html To unsubscribe or change options: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam
