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The administration of Gurgaon, one of India's biggest software hubs, recently reiterated the rule that malls and other such establishments in the city should not permit women to work after 8 pm, unless permission is granted by the Labour Commissioner, following reports of a woman employee, who was abducted and gangraped from a Mall. Seems the labour laws in Gurgaon and neighbouring, Delhi, remain archaic and prohibit women from being employed in certain categories of shops. Simply put, women's access to public spaces is regulated by the threat of rape, with the assumption that women face greater chances of risk when they work till late at night, or access public places after dark. It means that women are expected to organise their life, work and futures foundationally on the fear of rape at work or in public spaces; failing which, they are blamed for having "invited" the violence of rape. IIt means that the state imposes curfew on all women. A state of emergency for women is after all, "normal" law and order for the state. The abject failure of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and the Municipal Corporation to provide the city with an infrastructure has meant that roads are not built or maintained, sidewalks do not exist, systems of lighting remain poor, paths are strewn with open sewers and public transportation is pathetic. This means that the chances of resisting an assault or raising an effective alarm are considerably reduced, if not non-existent. Even if the policing was adequate, which it is not by any stretch of imagination, can cutting-edge policing prevent or redress sexual violence in the absence of basic infrastructure? Only a few months ago, we heard that the Gurgaon police spent Rs 30 lakh to purchase an 'Emergency Service Vehicle' equipped with hi-tech devices, including spy cams, operated by trained policemen. Not only is one such car and team ill- equipped to police the city, it would be quite impossible for such a vehicle to reach a scene of crime or an accident site in a timely manner, given the traffic that clogs the city. Even privatised solutions seem to have failed. To get to the malls or the enclaves of outsourcing companies, women mostly rely on private transportation provided by a company or taxis. But now we know then this is not safe either. If a woman is stalked, sexually harassed, followed, and raped from her workplace on her way home, the employer is as culpable as the state. But then it is not acceptable in India for survivors of rape to file tort cases against those third parties who failed to take reasonable care to protect a woman against rape, as they do in American courts.- WFS — The writer is an assistant professor, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
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