New Delhi, Oct 1 Hundreds of female students participated in a consultation organised here on Thursday to draft a set of demands seeking stronger measures to ensure women’s safety.
Several activists and lawyers, including anti-rape activist Yogita Bhayana and senior advocate Shobha Gupta, who represented Bilkis Bano, also participated in the meeting at the YMCA Tourist Hostel Auditorium in central Delhi under the “Adhikar Abhi Nyay Abhi” banner.
The consultation was held against the backdrop of a series of protests by women students from various Delhi University colleges following the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old school student at Aastha Kunj Park in south Delhi’s Kalkaji.
The participants discussed measures to make Delhi and other parts of the country safer for women.
Three key demands emerged from the consultation: A two-day discussion on women’s safety in Parliament before Navratri, a 90-day audit in every state to assess crimes against women, and mandatory gender-sensitisation programmes in all educational institutions.
The organisers said gender-sensitisation programmes should be made compulsory in both government and private educational institutions.
The demands will be drafted collectively and formally submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office, they said.
The participants also called for greater accountability in cases of crimes against women and sustained institutional efforts to prevent gender-based violence.
The consultation was described by the organisers as a first-of-its-kind effort led by female students to bring together young people, activists and legal experts on the issue of women’s safety.
(PTI News)
