All-women ‘thanas’

To begin with, the symbolism of rolling out 21 all-women "thanas" in Haryana on the eve of Raksha Bandhan — the festival when brothers vow to protect sisters — reeks of patriarchal mindset. If the intent behind creating all-women police stations is to provide a secluded haven that emboldens women to report crimes committed against them, the state must be aware that the most common gender crimes in the state like female foeticide and infanticide go unreported, not for lack of any infrastructure but for the cultural sanction they enjoy across class and gender. Also the answer to the 73 per cent incidence of other crimes like rape, abduction and molestation per 1,00,000 female population in Haryana does not lie in segregating the police force. 

Has the creation of all-women schools, buses, trains, banks and hospitals been able to lessen the gender bias? Crime graphs have been going only northward. If men and women have to work and move together, they need more institutions of inclusion rather than seclusion. The answer to gender crimes is the presence of more women in all walks of life, especially those in positions of authority. And a higher women representation in the police force will not only give a sense of safety and confidence to women but it will also go a long way in breaking the myth of male superiority in forces like the police. 

The Rs 1,000-crore Nirbhaya Fund was created for providing a better safety network to women with the suggestion that states should have at least three women sub-inspectors and 10 women constables in each police station. But in a police force of 15.85 lakh in the country, the all-India average representation of women is a meagre 5.33 per cent. Incidentally, Tamil Nadu, with 193 all-women police stations, the highest number in the country, has showed a reduction in the crime rate due to an underreporting of crimes against women. And the all-women ‘thanas’ in Gujarat now serve as Special Juvenile Police Units. Only time will tell how effective the 21 all-women ‘thanas’ are in protecting women in the patriarchal Jatland.