He said a new system will be put in place, under which any woman moving out of her house for her work will register herself at the local police station.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Monday said the minimum age of marriage for women should be raised from the current 18 years to 21 years.
The statement by the Madhya Pradesh CM came months after a similar position was voiced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the nation on the 74th Independence Day, where he had stated that he central government has constituted a committee formed by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to look into the minimum marriageable age for women.
Inaugurating ‘Samman’, a fortnight-long awareness programme for a crime against women, Mr Chouhan said: “I feel that the marriage age of daughters should be increased from 18 to 21 years. I want to make this a matter of debate, and the country and the state should reflect on this.”
However, what has shocked many is the new system that Mr Chouhan talked about, which will be used to safeguard working women. He said a new system will be put in place, under which any woman moving out of her house for her work will register herself at the local police station, and she will be tracked for her safety. In case of distress, a helpline number will be provided to such women, enabling them to call for help. The installation of panic buttons in public transportation will be made compulsory, the Indian Express reported.
People were quick to address the privacy issues that can arise through such plan. Journalist Rohini Singh question why men were not being tracked instead to ensure the safety of women.
“Instead of ensuring that the police acts swiftly on cases of crimes against women, the onus of ensuring women safety is put on the woman herself. Why don’t men register themselves and be tracked @ChouhanShivraj ji?” she asked.
Tehseen Poonawalla, a regular face on TV debates, said: “Has the Hon’ble CM @ChouhanShivraj lost all respect for the Constitution and for privacy! Why not just put chips in the girl ..and have them linked to satellite beaming in the government surveillance room!”
In the past nine months, incidents of rape have gone down by 19 per cent in the state, while kidnapping has reduced by 23 per cent, female foeticide by 20 per cent and sexual harassment by 14 per cent, the MP CM said. He further added that around 7,000 missing women were found by police.
He also felicitated four citizens who fought to prevent crimes against women.
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