Is it crime to be born as a woman in India? Well, it seems so as crime against the fairer sex has multiplied a lot. Barely the sordid mood after the Nirbhaya and the Mumbai rape case had died down; we now have the horrific case in Bangalore where a woman bank manager was mercilessly attacked with a machete by a goon inside an ATM. The CCTV grabs have left the whole nation shocked and ashamed. In this morbid scenario we spoke to a few TV celebs about what they felt about this unfortunate situation. Ruslaan Mumtaz (Kehta Hai Dil... Jee Le Zara) said, “The problem stems from the fact that we have a male dominated system and our uneducated leaders being a product of the same system don’t want to do anything to protect women. Here I will also blame the middle class which does not vote. Those who don’t exercise their electoral franchise are equally responsible for all crimes, for they did not choose the right leaders to do the required clean-up job. There is nothing we can do other than provide body guards and weapon to protect our women folk which again is not practically possible.” Ruslaan’s political barb was seconded by Gaurav Chopraa (Uttaran) who added that the only solution is a rapid overhaul of the country’s governance system. “It needs to be run like big Multinational Corporations, where if you perform well, you get incentives and if you don’t, out you go. Accountability up and down the value chain is very critical. Right to recall is one possible option. Only then will real pressing issues like long delayed police and judicial reforms will kick in. People also need to stop voting on caste and communal lines. Last but not the least the concept of freebies needs to be stopped. Why do political parties promise free power, or free laptop? Can’t they create an infrastructure which will enable people to earn enough to pay for these services,” Chopraa questioned. Sara Khan also chipped in with her views saying, “We don’t need new laws. We have enough of them. It is just that people get away due to political and money power. Hence we need to tighten the norms and ensure speedy delivery of justice. Police stations need to be made more gender friendly. Women and parents need to ensure personal safety i.e. not going out alone at night. Better to be safe than sorry. The media has played an important role in spreading awareness I just hope that they keep the pressure on rather than moving on to the next breaking news.” However, the fiery Dolly Bindra preferred a more moderate route, “I don’t support this blame game which happens with every such incident. Rather all stake holders need to sit down and collectively find a solution to this very sensitive issue of women security. As for this particular incident, we will need to investigate the reasons, whether it was for robbery or any other personal animosity, as it appears to be a random incident. We will also need to see how come no passer byes came to protect as the ATM can’t be in wilderness. I also don’t support any move which is anti men. Our response to protect the women needs to be balanced, as men are integral part of the society, they are also our fathers, brothers and husbands. The need of the hour is a concerted movement, not just ad-hoc candle light marches to ask the powers to protect women. Here I would like to point out that the government has also taken certain harsh measures to deter would be criminals.” Gaurav Gera on his part said, “It is very scary to see the footage. Forget women, even a man can’t fight back armed robbers. You can get mugged or even killed anytime anywhere. It is important that this footage goes viral for it will create a fear among the criminals that CCTV footage can nail you. Also security at isolated spots needs to be increased. Here the concerned bank needs to be hauled up for not providing security guards at the booth.” Last but not the least a very agitated Nia Sharma said, “This is just indicative about how vulnerable Indian women have become. What was worse was that that the latest incident happened in broad daylight. I am scared, even my mother is wondering how I will travel alone. We talk of our nation beating others on economic and military indices. Yet we can’t protect women in our streets. I totally reject the charge that women need to be more assertive, we are doing what we can. It is high time that the authorities take action. However outrageous statements like the CBI chief’s comments that if rape is inevitable, enjoy it just shows how stupid people in higher up positrons are.” Let us know your comments on the shameful incident!!!