Whistling for social change
Feeling disturbed and appalled after the Nirbhaya incident, teen trio Kairavi Bharatram, Aditya Ray Jain and Ananya Mittal decided to create a unique ‘ Rape Whistle’ to safeguard city’s girls and women. Learn about their journey
The biggest task for us will be to make people aware of the sound that the whistle makes
December 16, 2012 was a day that shook the nation. Disturbed and shaken by the barbarity of this act of inhumanity against women, like many countrymen, three teens Kairavi, Ananya and Aditya too decided not to sit back.
“We were in our early teens when the Nirbhaya incident took place and at that age we didn’t even know what ‘ rape’ exactly meant. As soon as we learnt about it through our peers, teachers and parents, we felt sick to our stomachs. It is appalling that women in this country are still subject to such atrocious acts,” explains Kairavi Bharatram, 16- yearold student of The Shri Ram School, Vasant Vihar who partnered with fellow students and friends Ananya Mittal and Aditya Ray Jain in a mission to empower the girls and women of the capital by developing a new tool — ‘ Rape Whistle’.
“The idea to develop a tool came about when we had gone for a camp organised by our school where we were advised by mentors to participate in social services. Right after that my cousin and I brainstormed over several ideas and we decided that we wanted to help eradicate the rape situation in Delhi. However, we didn’t want to do what others were already doing such as giving speeches, organising walks, protests, workshops, etc. We wanted to step up and take action and do something that was tangible as well as easy. Co- inciden- tally, my cousin who had gone to the US, brought a sample of the rape whistle, generally used as a risk reduction tool and highly promoted in the west as a ‘ safe’ and ‘ non- violent’ way to fend off criminals. It quickly struck us that why not design and distribute a similar tool in our country too. So, with the theoretical sketch in our minds, we decided to develop a one- of- a- kind whistle for Indian women,” shares Kairavi and adds, “The usual female rape- avoidance mechanisms involve pepper spray — that can sometimes backfire at you in case the molester or rapist gets hold of it, and martial arts — that not everyone can learn or have time for. Hence, we wanted to introduce something that was simple, convenient, and absolutely free of cost.”
It took over two years for the group to get the concept and design of the rape whistle that is part of their larger campaign titled “She’s Against Rape” to finally materialise. Explaining about the tool, Kairavi points out, “We have developed a unique pink coloured rape whistle and it is a light object that one can carry as a key chain as well. It is equipped with an ‘ on’ and ‘ off ’ button and when switched on, the whistle will blow at 120 decibel — as loud as the noise at a rock concert — triggering/ alerting people around. The whistle has a rechargeable battery and in case the battery dies during an emergency, the person can blow the whistle manually too. We did a lot of research and went to several vendors here in Delhi but finally are getting them made in China as it is much cheaper there. The cost of production in China is ` 80 as against ` 150 here . Initially our parents helped us with the funds. But we are hoping to get help from corporate sponsors. Also we are not going to charge anything for these whistles, but if someone wants to voluntarily give us money then we will use it to sponsor more whistles.”
The trio, who recently won a Silver medal in the Group category at the Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards for their work, also hopes to receive help and support from the Delhi Police. Talking about an important challenge Kairavi concludes, “Bringing the whistle and distributing it is not much of an issue. The biggest task for us will be to make people aware of the sound that the whistle makes. We have to make it as popular as the sound of an ambulance or a fire brigade so that if people hear it, they will rush to help. We want the full support of the Delhi Police too in helping us spread the message.”