Women vote for crime-free city

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 19

The increasing number of child rape cases in the tricity is a cause of concern for women voters of the UT.

Pinning high hopes on the new government which will be formed in the coming days, women cast their vote for safety and equal opportunity. Prachi Sharma (40), a charted accountant (CA) and resident of Sector 28, said: “When we were young, we have been the victims of eve-teasing. Now, we fear for our daughters as there has been an upsurge in crime rate against women in the tricity. Every now and then, we keep hearing child rape cases. The recent crime against 5-year-old girl in Panchkula sent shivers down our spine. We need safety and stricter punishment for rapists.”

A young woman voter of Panjab University was eloquent in sharing her thoughts about this election. Gauri Bansal (23) said: “The biggest issue for me is women empowerment and political empowerment is a big part of it. We need more women representation in politics. Sadly, the political parties have fielded only a few women candidates. Chandigarh used to be a real model of development and in the past five years, our rank has dropped in sanitation, pollution, security and healthcare. In 2014, we were moving towards a vision which now seems delusional. A democracy cannot be about one man.”

A resident of Sector 27, Vidhi (35), said she forced her husband to vote today as she felt it was their moral responsibility. “Street lights don’t work at night and keeping the safety point of view in mind, this should be addressed. The City Beautiful should look ‘beautiful’.”

Anju Sharma (42), a working professional, said: “We need changes in the education system of our country. The NCERT will be changing the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) after 14 years.”