Sulli Deals and Bulli Bai: Alumni of institutions write to Prez, PM

NEW DELHI: Alumni of various prominent institutions have written to President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Members of Parliament, drawing their attention to rising incidents of crime against women in the country, and have called upon the leaders to condemn such actions and initiate steps to protect rights and dignity of all women.

The letter has been written in the backdrop of recent incidents like Sulli Deals and Bulli Bai. "They are manifestations of the culture that target women, for daring to have a voice of their own," the letter said.

The letter said that there are increasing instances of intimidation and harassment of women across various spaces. The letter emphasizes that women in India have never been more unsafe both online and offline spaces, the threat of physical harm, sexual violence and outright violation of dignity and rights in online spaces seems to have become commonplace enough for our political leaders to not notice anymore.

There is a constriction of the spaces for expression and participation of women, especially from minority groups, Dalit women and girls.

The letter urges leaders to break their silence and apathy towards the issue of women's safety. "In this atmosphere of silence not only do the perpetrators of such crimes often go scot-free but they are also getting emboldened by the increasing atmosphere of hate and divisiveness in the country and barely show any remorse for hate-filled misogynistic crimes," it said.

It demanded that steps should be taken including, action against perpetrators when such cases are reported.

The Open letter initiated by a group of alumni from IRMA was soon joined by over like-minded alumni from prominent institutions across the country and has over 250 signatures.

The letter has been written by alumni of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) joined by alumni of other prominent institutions including Lady Shri Ram College, IIT Bombay, National Institute of Design (NID), XLRI, Miranda House. (IANS)

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