Trying to get another shot at power, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) via Delhi Dialogue has come up with ways of dealing with more intricate problems plaguing women in the city. Women’s issues, their safety being the party’s topmost priority.
On the issue of deploying guards or marshals in buses, party leader Atishi Marlena said due to better and more organised security apparatus by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), incidents of eve-teasing or misbehaviour with women on the Metro are not reported frequently.
“We do understand that merely deploying security guards in crowded buses may not be the best solution, but we can make arrangements for marshals to board and deboard the buses at regular intervals and even carry out surprise checks. This will instil belief in women passengers and those harassing them that such incidents will be dealt with instantly,” said Marlena, adding, “To start with, we will assign 1,000 marshals and then probably have one marshal per bus to keep a watchful eye.”
The party also batted for a CCTV network across the Capital, including the public transport system and have WiFi-enabled cameras installed.
With a three-pronged approach of ensuring empowerment, safety, and employment for women, AAP will reveal more on its strategy in Wednesday’s Delhi Dialogue at Talkatora Gardens. Gul Panag, Kanchan Chaudhary and Manisha lath Gupta will be main speakers at the second edition.
“We have a women’s frontal organisation called AAP Ki Mahila Shakti, which has been meeting women across the city. So far we have had around 300 meetings in every ward. Women’s safety was one overriding issue at all meetings across the Capital. Some of the stories we heard were, quite frankly, shocking,” said Marlena.
Earlier party member Adarsh Shastri had mentioned that with buses being unsafe, last mile connectivity was a problem area that was being addressed by the party.
Another worrisome trend, said Marlena, is the increasing number of liquor vends. “Such alarming easy access to alcohol leads to not just domestic violence, but street violence as well.”
Party leaders said prohibition wouldn’t be the right move. “Prohibition of any kind makes things worse. We do have other plans, which experts will reveal on Wednesday at the Delhi Dialogue,” said a senior leader of the party.