KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Chief Minister Ms Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday embarrassed Congress leader Nawang Rigzin Jora for pooh-poohing her women exclusive bus service saying: “You would know things, had you been a girl.”
Ms Mehbooba was responding to the debate over the governor’s address that highlighted the government initiatives.
“No girl feels safe in buses. But you would never know it because you are not a girl,” Ms Mufti said. “Women from the age of 15 to 60 face the harassment.”
Ms Mufti said that she knows it because she is a woman. “I have passed through all this as a student and as a woman,” Ms Mufti said. “My father has held high positions but me and my sister would always go to school and later to the university in a bus. We never had the facility of a car so we know it all.”
Chief Minister said starting a bus service exclusively for woman is my response to my personal experiences. “It is outcome of my ego as a woman,” she asserted.
Ms Mufti said behind the five killings in Handwara was “cheed-chaad” – eve teasing. But she did not elaborate further on the issue.
She referred to the recent instance in Khour (Akhnoor) where a police officer was exploiting a young bride for one-and-a-half year. “We have taken cognizance of that but to stop such instances the government has decided to create more women police stations,” Ms Mufti said.
“Women feel reluctant in going to the police stations for obvious reasons,” Ms Mufti said. “We have already started four women police stations to take care of the women complaints and I want every district should have one police station.”
Though police are more than 100 thousand strong force, women are under-represented in the biggest force. The women man only 2619 positions in police including 49 gazetted officers. Another 4000 posts have been created for which 2484 have applied.
