Now see this lady who s coming. He points to a woman in ragged robes, holding a begging bowl. You can tell she s a woman of India. Such attitudes die hard. They think that a woman is a slave or chattel and deserves to be beaten, she says.
Many policemen appear to share that perception.
Mythily Sivaraman, secretary of the All India Democratic Women s Association, recently took a battered woman to a police station. It is the hand that hits that also embraces you. She never gave me reason to. As more and more women enter India s work force and join the rush-hour commute, the problem is getting worse. Usually, it s a leer or an obscene remark at a bus stop, sometimes it s a pinch or a squeeze.