Numbers women don’t Need

Jisha Surya

Express News Service

Last Updated : 29 Oct 2011 11:39:19 AM IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hello ladies, can you recognise these numbers? 537252, 1091, 9995399953. If you could, then you belong to a minority. The number 537252, which is the Women’s Commission SMS number, and 1091 and 9995399953, both Vanitha police numbers, were introduced for the safety of women in the state.

At a time when there is an alarming rise in the crime rate against women, City Express checked the effectiveness of the women’s safety measures. Surprisingly, most of the women had no idea about these numbers.

Women from various sections of the society talked to Express. Nobody has either saved these numbers in their mobiles or remembers them. These numbers were introduced to help women in distress, but it seems women prefer calling their own relatives for help instead.

Law student Annapurna said she had no idea about these numbers. “I don’t know anything about these numbers. I prefer calling my parents in case of an emergency. My parents’ numbers are set in speed dial mode,” she said. Only a single student among Annapurna’s classmates in the Law Academy has saved the emergency helpline number.

Homemaker Lakshmi too is not aware of the emergency helpline number. “I don’t travel alone. So I didn’t think of saving these numbers,” she said.

Deepa S Babu, employee of UST Global, has saved the police control room number. She feels it is better to use emergency helpline number of police in case of an emergency. “Some issues could be handled by ourselves without involving others. In other cases, it is better to call the police,” she said.

Meanwhile, the sources in the Women’s Commission said the SMS facility is active. Anjana, sub inspector who is in charge of the SMS facility, said as many as 35 complaints have been registered so far. “Women from various parts of the state send SMS. We receive various complaints such as harassment, domestic violence etc. When we get the SMS, I call back to inquire the issue,” she said.

Sub Inspector of Vanitha police Rashida too said women are using the helpline service in emergency situations. She said the cell is receiving at least 15 calls per day.  “We get calls from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram. Sometimes, we get calls from foreign countries. Most of these are cases of domestic violence,”  she said.

However, she added, another campaign is needed to spread awareness about the helpline number.