Letters written by readers to Dinamalar Daily about world, country and Tamil Nadu events:
‘E-mail’ letter from M. Kalaivani, Aruppukkottai, Virudhunagar district: In Marthandam, Kanyakumari district, a woman was recently tied to an electric pole and harassed by some auto drivers.
We have heard of such incidents in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where literacy is low, and that too in the villages there.
But in Tamil Nadu, where the rulers pride themselves as a developed state, it is shameful that such an indecent incident has happened in Kumari district, which is also full of educated people.
In 2012, the ‘Nirbhaya’ rape incident in Delhi shook the country. After this incident, women were advised to learn martial arts and carry chili powder etc. in their hands to escape from the enemy.
Accordingly, the Marthandam woman slapped the auto drivers who mocked her and threw chilli powder at them in self-defense; Because of this, they caught him, tied him to an electric pole and beat him.
In recent days, violence against women has been on the rise in Tamil Nadu.
According to the 69th report of the National Crime Records Bureau, Tamil Nadu has moved up to the third place in terms of the number of crimes. Number of crimes against women reported in 2019, 1,982; This is expected to increase to 2,421 in 2021, according to statistics.
Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘Only when a woman walks down the street in the middle of the night with many jewels on her neck and returns home safely will the country be considered truly free’. But in Tamil Nadu women could not go alone even in broad daylight with bare necks.
It is funny that Chief Minister Stalin, who cannot change all this, says ‘Tamil is a safe state for women’. Is this the vision of a ‘Dravidian model’ that respects women?