Girls, women in Delhi divided over role of ‘anti-romeo squad’ in protecting them
NEW DELHI: ‘Anti-romeo’ squads scouring the streets of Uttar Pradesh have been rounding up several men, branded as ‘roadside Romeos’, loitering around schools and public places.
The crackdown by the UP Police has also made waves in Delhi, as a section of women want Delhi Police to constitute similar specialised squads to make public places safe for woman.
However, there are also those who believe that such initiatives are aimed at making women conform to their idea of womanhood and such proactive policing will have a blowback, as vigilante groups may crop up harassing innocent men and women, thereby jeopardising the fight for gender inclusive public spaces.
Several schools dot the Dwarka sub city map. A school can be spotted every five minutes in Dwarka Sector-10, attracting the much reviled Romeos. Several school going girls told Millennium Post that they are often stalked by men on bikes, who sometimes go so far as to flash their genitals out in the open.
Asna from Venkateshwar International School said: “There are many boys who wait for our school to get over. They whistle at us and stalk us to our homes.”
Asna and her friend Ridhi fear going to the Sector-10 Metro station, as the serpentine line of rickshaw pullers also pass comments on their skirts and pose a threat as they consume drugs in the open. Sometimes, when girls in the nearby schools have to go to the Sector-6 market, they are harassed by bikers.
“They grab our hands and invite us for drinks. There are also times when boys watch explicit content on their phones and masturbate out in the open. They do it on purpose when we are around them,” said Ridhi.
Students at the Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya, also reported similar incidents, but claimed that since the police are proactive in the affluent Dwarka area, they feel relatively safe. “I live in Palam area, where they drink out in the open and abuse us. But here at least I feel safe. But I do think that in Palam we need anti-romeo squads.”
Women from Outer Rohini, North West Delhi, have expressed the same sentiment as a lack of police personnel forces them to take the law into their own hands or face confinement in their homes. “In Jahangirpuri C-block area, many men drink out in the open. It was very difficult for me to even visit the local dispensary because of them. So, one day, I decided to rally the woman in my neighbourhood and gave them a thrashing. They never returned,” said Meena, a housewife.
However, the concept of anti-romeo squads has not gone down well with college going women.
Many are bound by primitive hostel rules, curtailing their movement in the evening. “This protectionist role played by the government is problematic. We don’t need protectors, who go into parks and harass couples,” said Sumbul Mashhadi, a student of Jamia Millia Islamia.
Instead, Delhi Police should strengthen their policing and be willing to register FIRS in cases relating to sexual harassment, several women told Millennium Post.
Delhi Police have so far not constituted such squads, but run programmes like Operation Shishtachar, which they routinely clamp down on eveteasers and counsel them.
The crackdown on ‘Romeos’, in the garb of making spaces safe for woman, may be counter-productive in the end and lead to rise of vigilante groups meting out justice on the streets.
“If this is implemented in Delhi, who is to say that vigilante groups don’t take law into their own hands like in Maharashtra? This is just a way to make women conform to their idea of womanhood,” said Kajal, a DU student.