Why Bangalore is not safe for women

Bangalore, the Garden City, the Electronic City of India, the city which professionals, artists, educationists, big institutions and cultural hubs call their home, the city which embraces change, knowledge and modern technology better than other metros, and now, unfortunately, a city which has become the capital of crime against women in South India.

The city's cool, cosmopolitan vibe has taken a massive hit ever since it was declared the third most unsafe city in the country for women and most importantly, ever since it allowed monsters on prowl for minor girls in schools to roam around freely and unchecked.

Cases of minor girls getting raped in schools, young students being kidnapped from colleges and raped brutally, working women molested and harassed on their way home after a late night shift all point to a devastating disintegration of Bangalore's society and it's degrading morality. We might not be as bad as Delhi when it comes to crime against women, but we aren't exactly far behind.

The city recorded 80 rape cases in 2013, three cases of rape within the school premises have surfaced in this year alone. And according to Bangalore City Police, the number of reported sexual crimes against children till June this year was at a shocking 66 in the city, compared to 34 in 2013. And these are just the cases that have been spotted and reported by well-educated and well-informed parents. The situation in government schools might be even dire.

The license raj for establishment of schools in Karnataka has restricted the growth of healthy competition, and poor implementation of basic rules of setting up a school has led to random growth of illegal and uncertified institutions. There is utter lack of auditing of schools' staff, security and other standards, culminating in an unregulated mess. The issue of corruption and red-tapism in the state government has also given birth to illegal colonies, leaving jurisdiction of these settlements unmonitored.

The state guidelines for schools mandate strict background verification of staff at all levels. But yet, cases like that of Paul Meekin in 2012 occur. The English headmaster of an international school, Paul Meekin was arrested for making inappropriate comments and advances on the students. What followed shook this city, as it was soon revealed that Meekin was a repeat offender and a pedophile wanted by the British police. The culprit was arrested, booked and jailed, and the case is currently under court jurisdiction. But not all cases in the city find justice, as most schools are unwilling to do even the bare minimum, and the state is either uninterested or unwilling to force them to do so.

An even more disturbing anomaly is that schools are immune from the 1994 Supreme Court judgment that stipulates all workplaces to have a sexual harassment committee. Any such policy, ought to extend to all schools that apply for a license to open an educational institution, not just government schools.

Earlier, we told our women to avoid dark and dingy corners of the city while returning home at night, we told them to not venture into neglected parking lots, we asked them to be accompanied by male friends and family members if heading to a club at night, and now, the crimes have even penetrated the secure and safe walls of our schools. What are we going to tell them now? Stay at home and play with dolls?

Bangalore's rapid and phenomenal expansion has been a success story, but with severe consequences. While we have opened our doors and welcomed people from all over the country, we have failed to implement laws and educate weaker sections of society and become satisfied with lazy promises made by political parties, many of them unsurprisingly just before elections. We've become satisfied with rulings that allow bars and pubs to remain open till 1 a.m. We've become satisfied with sporadic protests and armchair discussions over crime against women and children of the city. We've become satisfied with our high-flying IT jobs and our cozy, modern houses. We've, in fact, shamefully become tolerant as a city because we are simply following the general mentality of the country, the "chalta hai" attitude.

Whether we like to acknowledge the fact or not, if we continue to turn a blind eye to crimes against women, it won't be long before the IT hub of the nation transforms into a rape hub.