Women rights activists stage protest outside MP Bhawan in Delhi

A group of women rights activists staged a protest outside the Madhya Pradesh Bhawan here against what they called a state government proposal for surveillance of working women to ensure their safety. They said that in the guise of ensuring safety, the proposal if implemented, will adversely impact women's autonomy and freedom.

In a joint statement, the activists, including Maimoona Mollah, Shabnam Hashmi, Anjali Bhardwaj, Poonam Kaushik, Deepti Bharti, Ritu Kaushik and Madhuri Varshney, said they reject any such proposal and the thinking behind such draconian and paternalistic initiative. Hashmi also claimed that 40-odd protesters were briefly detained by police.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had reportedly said on Monday that he was in favour of a system being put in place under which women who live outside their homes for work can register themselves at a local police station "and she will be tracked for her safety".

The activists said Chouhan should focus on improving law and order, making local infrastructure and public spaces safe for women and ensuring effective investigation and prosecution in cases of crimes against women. "This surveillance proposal is just a means to divert from governance failures in the state. We condemn this proposal to exercise control over women in the guise of their safety and call upon the CM to publicly rescind his comments," it said.