While PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath have claimed that women are now secure in the state, incidents challenging their claim continue to occur. Security of women here is still a big issue in reality but sadly it has failed to become an issue in this election.

“Crime has been controlled in the state and women are safe here after Yogi Adityanath became the CM of UP” is the claim of BJP leaders. Not only the CM himself but the PM also, in his rally here on Wednesday, had made a similar assertion.

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However, the ground reality is entirely different. Just a day after the festival of Holi, a college-going girl was molested by her neighbours in Madhavpuram locality of the city. As the girl’s family protested, the accused are now terrorising and threatening them. Also, all their efforts to lodge an FIR have also gone in vain. The girl is so scared that she is now forced to sit at home, hence missing her exams. “My parents asked me not to go to give exams as these goons are threatening of dire consequences and cops are initiating no action,” said the visibly shocked girl. “My one year is wasted and right now future is uncertain,” she said, adding that it is difficult to live under such circumstances.

Earlier, in another incident, a video went viral in which some boys were trying to molest a girl at a girl’s college of Kithore area of the district. It was only after a few NGOs and local residents mounted pressure on the authorities and the police that action was initiated and police arrested the main accused Gaurav and his three friends. The girl’s family even refused to come forward to lodge a case because they were scared that it might have a bad effect on the girl’s life.

“Incidents like this are taking place every now and then with women and girls here, however, many of them are unregistered with police due to several reasons due to which no action is taken against the accused and the girls continue to live in fear,” said Atul Sharma, president of Sankalp Organisation. Atul has launched a campaign against such incidents and to empower the girls with the slogan, “Lado, Ab Aur Cheerharan Nahi” which she plans to launch soon.

According to Atul, many such incidents are reported to them but they either end up with a “forced” compromise or no action at all. “Girls are forced to quit education and sit at home due to safety reasons.” She said, mentioning that a girl from Hastinapur, who studied at a prominent women’s college of the city, had to leave the college and sit at home because she was continually harassed and eve-teased in the bus she used to commute every day. She went to the police with her complaint but didn’t get any help and now she is planning to start some distant learning course.

In the past years, many such incidents were reported in which the girls were either eve-teased or raped. Last year, a young girl from Sardhana was set ablaze after she tried to counter the eve teasers and she finally lost her life, leaving behind a grieving family and many unanswered questions.

“It is true that girls are not safe and they have to struggle to keep themselves safe from the boys every time they come out of the house,” says Tara Sharma, a housewife, adding that every now and then we hear about incidents of purse or chain snatching from women and at times even rape, so how are the women safe? Unfortunately, this is not an issue in this Lok Sabha election, she quipped.

“Women as a gender are trying to come up and getting opportunities but nothing is happening about their safety,” says Anshu Mehra, a professional, adding that incidents like workplace harassment and safety violation are common but have not been taken up in the election.

“We are gradually going back to the old days and I fear that minor girls would be married and we will go back to the “Parda system” if the situation continues to remain the same. Here, when a 75-year-old woman is not safe then how can you expect a girl in her teens to be safe?” asked Atul.

On Friday, a 75-year-old woman was gang-raped when she was in the field in Baghpat area and now her condition is critical, she informed.

Dr Neena Tomar, principal of Arya Kanya Inter College in Daurala, said that girl and women safety is a major issue and it is more acute in rural areas. “A majority of college students are from rural areas and almost every day they share their plights with me and the teachers.” Tomar adds that the government tries to take initiatives but due to the lack of implementation the situation on the ground remains the same. Programmes such as Police Pathsala are confined to public schools and hence girls from rural areas cannot avail their benefits, she adds.

One such initiative of the state government was the anti-Romeo squad which was launched with much fanfare and promise but lost the steam quickly.

SSP of Meerut, Nitin Tiwari, claims that anti-Romeo squads are very much in existence but now at the time of the elections their pace of work has slowed down due to election duties. He, however, averred that the safety of women is always a priority of the police.