On Jan 1, a young woman was assaulted near her house in Kammanahalli by two men, one of whom is a delivery boy working in the city. Like many others, drivers and handymen he has access to people’s homes in a city that provides women with very little security. Actress and comedian Rubi Chakravarty talks to Joyeeta Chakravorty about laws that protect perpetrators and judge women in a society that is inherently flawed.
The country introduces her as a socialite and a stand-up comedian, some refer to her as a theatre aficionado. Rubi Chakravarty is all these things undoubtedly, but it was the BBC who coined it best, referring to her as the Top 100 Women to have made a difference in the year 2014. Salt Magazine also named her one of the greatest female change-agents of 2015, in their list of visionaries who are shattering the glass ceiling, changing innumerable lives for the better and bringing a burst of optimism to everybody around them. Deccan Chronicle caught up with Rubi, who took some time out to chat with us about the molestation on New Year's Eve in Kammanahalli, when a young girl was assaulted by a delivery boy.
Although the Bengaluru police have arrested four people in connection with the case, the fact that the attacker was a delivery boy raised another important issue. These are men who gain access to women's homes in a society that provides them with almost no protection. "It is not just about the delivery boy. There are drivers, security guards and passengers. Sexual predators are everywhere and we cannot restrict ourselves by limiting this to delivery boys," she stresses.
“The delivery boys were born out of a system that is inherently flawed, which not only provides no security to women but is also designed to let the perpetrator get away with his misdeeds. It's a delivery boy today, it could be a driver tomorrow and so on. Sadly, we have a small-town or Taluk-level mentality, for we refuse to acknowledge the problems that arise in a meta-city," said Rubi, pausing to order herself a cup of coffee. "We are not equipped in that sense, we don't even have street lights," she laughed, although one can hardly deny the truth of her words. "Sadly, we have had an opposition ruling the city for the last 15 years, resulting in the situation today. We're constantly hoping for change from the same cesspool of politicians. It is a nameless and faceless city with nameless and faceless people taking orders and nameless and faceless people delivering them," she said.
"Let's search for real solutions, instead of this fix band-aid approach. Doing yoga and organising candlelight marches won't do anymore. Police should remain independent of the clutches of these babus and netas. The political class certainly shouldn't have a say in the workings of the judiciary, either. Why isn't our city police better equipped with technology, stun guns and water canons?" she asks. "You know why there are no background checks done on police, delivery boys and Netas," she asks, proceeding to answer the question herself. "A small town mentality rules a megay city!" "A mega city requires mega solutions but we prefer the band-aid variety.
Rubi, who was born here in the city has noticed a marked deterioration its ethos. "There has been a great deterioration in law and order because of the unplanned, unprecedented growth. We are a lost city.”
She also points out the flawed remarks these incidents tend to garner, including, "no business of wearing short skirts" or " no need to party and hang out at night' - the only mainstream responses to female angst. "We have breasts and this is not our fault. These assaults and attacks are not a woman problem, they are a human problem," she concluded.
