Techies want women’s safety in election manifestoes

Hyderabad, March 8 : The IT and ITES Industry Association of Andhra Pradesh celebrated Women’s Day here on Saturday at Infosys Ltd, Gachibowli. Making this event more significant, the theme of the celebrations this year was “Women’s Safety & Empowerment” and separate panel discussions were held in Safety and Empowerment.

Participating in the first panel discussion, one of the panelists Dr. Soumya Mishra, Inspector General of Police Welfare said elections are around the corner. Politicians approach women seeking votes. Women must insist that they include women safety in of the top priorities in their manifestos.

Initiating the panel discussion Dr. Soumya congratulated the women assembled for surviving in a male-dominated society and succeeding. We women are not safe even in our homes, she said. Any new stranger comes into village, he can be easily identified. But, urban cities, no one knows who is coming and going. This anonymity encourages crime against women in urban cities, she observed.

Participating in the discussion another panelist Karuna Gopal, President, Foundation for Futuristic Cities said our police and governments are reactive rather than proactive. They wait for the crime to happen. Instead we can take up lot of pre-emptive measures such as constant monitoring systems. She quoted an example of how Brazilian police effectively monitor law and order situation through 700 closed circuit cameras in their capital with 450 analysts crunching terabytes of data. As a result the city has seen fewer crimes against women, other crimes and disasters. Do we really have to wait for the crime to happen, she questioned. Predictive policing should be the order of the day, she observed. Smart cities make safe cities, she said. She suggested that we can use digital infrastructure to disseminate information, spread awareness.

Adding further Dr. Sowmya said technology also plays a role in ensuring women safety. Controlling and Monitoring through CCTVs actually reduces crime, she opined.

When asked by the moderator Narsimha Rao to comment on Freedom vs Safety, where do we draw the line, she said safety is first and freedom comes next. Safety is individuals’ responsibility. Speaking further she said it is not those who wore revealing dresses were raped, but, those women who were not so confident became rape victims. What you wear is not the point; she said and added that your assertiveness and confidence is the first shield. In my experience, what I have seen and same is proved by the facts that in 97% of rape cases are mostly done by people known to the victim. They may be friends, relatives. Who do you trust? You must be always alert, Dr. Sowmya said.

Another panelist Uma Chigurupati, Marathon Runner, Chairperson – Hyderabad Heritage Marathon urged to create safe environment at work place.

Speaking about the role of technology in women safety, it helps as well as hurt, she said. Don’t reveal your travel plans through social media sites. Women are bad in networking. They must work in groups, in networks to ensure safety, observed the panelists.

Speaking about do and don’ts women need to do to ensure their safety, Uma suggested that each time they board an auto or taxi, click / photograph the number plate or even the driver and message it to the near ones, she said. To prevent crime, we must see that the erred are punished, no matter how big they are. We must be assured of the punishment and that too at the earliest by the government. Also Dr. Soumya told them not forget to carry a pepper spray. Thanks to Mr. Lagadapati Rajgopal, today it is more known now than ever before, she said. Right from childhood girls are trained not to react. Onus of crime is always thrown on women. So react, don’t tolerate crime against you. If you tolerate eve teasing, they will rape and even murder, because they know you don’t react, she said.

Giving his welcome address Bipin Pendyala, Secretary ITsAP asked if we need a day for women. In this forthcoming election, nearly 48.4% new women voters are expected to vote. That is nearly 15 crore, of which 50% of them are women. So women are going to play a powerful role in next elections, he said.

Bipin moderated another Panel discussion on Women Empowerment which was participated by Sangita Reddy, Executive Director, Apollo Hospitals; Meera Shenoy, Advisory team to PM on Skilling and CEO, Youth4Jobs; Sujatha Burla, TV Anchor, Founder – Shraddha.

Participating in the discussion. Sujatha Burla said Men have ‘Three Ms’ — Muscle, Mobility and Money, which women don’t have. However women have more will power than men. Women are much stronger than men. My own case is a true example. I became immobile due to an accident. I am weak, I am not as powerful as men, but, my will power made me stand on my own, she said.

Sangita Reddy said I wish we didn’t have to celebrate women day. By observing one and celebrating same as women day it in itself is a gross discrimination. We are subtly giving a message of discrimination, she said. She wished that in ten years from now we won’t need to celebrate Women’s day. The speakers participating in this discussion felt that empowerment starts from us.

The IT Industry has more than 30% women associates and the women percentage employed by the IT sector is increasing year after year. The IT Industry is probably the largest of all sectors employing women and their safety is of utmost importance

The Munch Team of Infosys performed a skit about Women Safety and Empowerment.

The winners of the various competitions: Rangoli, Photography, Digital Art, Short Film Making etc were given away prizes.

Nearly 400 women, IT Professionals and other participated in the celebrations. Earlier in the day a Self-defense workshop was conducted at the venue.   INN