As of now, it is a case of ironies, albeit quite bitter for some.
With the police in the city, as elsewhere in the country, gearing up to enforce the Supreme Court’s directive on vehicles with sun films, many women are an apprehensive lot. The same tinted glasses that were seen by the court as one of the reasons perpetrators of crime manage to get away with impunity also provide a safety cover to a section of society that is arguably the most vulnerable to such crimes—women.
Now, with the prospects of the security net being torn asunder a distinct reality, these women drivers are resigned to their fate. And not that their fears have been allayed at all.
Tara, a restaurateur, recollects the number of times she has been followed by rowdies at night. But that was when she drove around town without tinted glasses. “Ever since I put on the sun film, I feel safe—relatively safe, at least.” Tara’s work often requires her to drive back home late into the night, and this she had been doing without a Damocles’ sword hanging over the head. Till, of course, the other day.
Today, she has little choice but to comply with the court orders. “I could breathe easy when I was driving around in my car. I am getting the film—on which I had spent a bomb—removed. It’s not the money lost that pinches me so much. I am only dreading the day when I start plying a virtually see-through car.”
Radhika Balakrishnan, a Carnatic vocalist, echoes the sentiments, and goes on to add, “Stopping at traffic signals itself is a harassment. Even as you are easing to a halt, you have people not just gawking, but literally peeking into your car.”
It’s not only a question of leering eyes. Women drivers are badgered only for being women. Megha Menon offers a reason, “Most of those driving public utility vehicles like buses and autos try to bulldoze you the moment they realise it’s a woman driving the car. This kind of harassment comes down when such people can’t make out if the person in the vehicle is a woman.” This turns worse at night, adds Balakrishnan.
Media professional Ruman Ali agrees, and rues that Bangalore is no more as safe for women as it once was. “One will have to think twice before a night out with friends or family. Since pranksters and miscreants can now see who’s inside a vehicle, the disconcerting thought will keep nagging one.”
With the law all set to take its own course, women have one more issue to worry about.
