In Despite the large police presence, the nations capital, New Delhi, is not a particularly safe place for women. All kinds of violent crimes get reported on a daily basis. Some of these crimes could be prevented from happening if there were a way of sending alerts quickly.
A local charity, Whypoll, is planning to launch a new app called Fight Back in November this year. This app is capable of sending out text message with GPS location to up to five people, including the police. It can also place a post on Facebook and Twitter.
Hindol Sengupta, co-founder of Whypoll, the charity behind the app, says, Safety for women has become such a huge issue here and we felt that citizens of Delhi, where possibly the problem exists the most, could use this type of technological intervention.
"Women are harassed and molested everywhere on buses, at metro stations, in markets ... we believe this is Asia's first phone application aimed at making women safer," he adds.
Many of the problems that women in this country face are a direct result of our conservative attitudes. Women face not just eve teasers on the streets, but also the threats of forced marriage and dowry murders to "honour killings." After November, the Fight Back app will become available for download from the Whypoll website (whypoll.org) for a nominal fee.
The app will be supported by a range of mobiles, including Nokia and BlackBerry. The SOS alerts sent through the app will cost the same as an ordinary SMS message.
The "Fight Back" app will initially be available to download from the Whypoll website (whypoll.org) for a nominal fee and will be supported by a range of mobile devices such as Nokia and BlackBerry. SOS alerts will cost the same as an SMS.
Hindol Sengupta says, "We have created a platform where women can remain anonymous yet the incident will still be recorded and reflected on a map on our website -- which will help us push for action in places where there appears to be increased risks to women.
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