The Plight Of 'Working Women' In Hyderabad: 'Once Confined To Homes, Now In Offices Due To Security'

By Harshita Rao in Hyderabad

The security concerns of working women in Hyderabad is making news to worry, with the IT hub in Hyderabad is still grappling with security loopholes, women confess they would rather spend their night waiting in offices than venture out alone after sunset.

Considered a safe haven for Hyderabad's four lakh-strong working class, 30% of which are women, Hi-Tec City's image took a severe beating in 2013 after two horrific incidents ­ within a span of eight months ­ gave residents of this cosmopolitan pocket a reality check.

Tales of the unfortunate techie who was gang raped in a car or that of a young professional who had to pepper-spray her way out of a moving autorickshaw to escape a rape bid were hard to forget for women travelling to and from that part of the city every day . Suddenly , women who had never thought twice before stepping out of their workplaces alone at any time of the day or night, became hesitant. Being accompanied by a male colleaguefriend became the new norm.

Hi-Tec City , almost overnight, turned unsafe.

While ever since, the area has been relatively free of such crimes, there is still a plethora of concerns that haunt Hyderabad's western corridor ­ poor network of public transport, inadequate streetlights and unhelpful traffic police personnel, being some of them. And now, to make matters worse, some major firms have completely withdrawn travel facilities they offered to their employees until recently. Reason? Cost cutting.

“These policies show how negligent companies are concerning security issues of their women staffers. If providing pick-ups and drops are such a financial burden, they should deduct the cost from our salaries. Doing away with it completely isn't correct,“ rued Madhurima Niyogi, a lead consultant with Alliance Global Services.

Her grievance is shared by many others, particularly those working on late-night or `graveyard' shifts. “I work for a client based out of the US and I am, therefore, required to be in office from 2 pm to 11 pm. Because I am so petrified to travel by myself late in the night, on several occasions I stay back in office and leave only after 8 in the morning,“ confessed Preeti Vikas (name changed), a consultant with Tech Mahindra.

In fact, nobody is comfortable availing the cabs or share autos found parked in the area.The drivers, they complain, are often extremely rude, disrespectful and unscrupulous.While buses are a safer alternative, there aren't many plying in the `hi-tec' zone, women lament.

“There are barely any buses on the Hi-Tec City-Mehdipatnam and Biodiversity-Mindspace Junction routes past 10 pm. So when I get late, I am either compelled to stay back at a colleague's house or wait for my parents to pick me up,“ said 22-year-old Gayatri Dhulipala, who works for Infosys.

That most roads connecting the areas around the technology hub are very poorly lit and manned by disinterested traffic policemen only compound the problem. “My friend once decided to walk to her hostel in Kondapur, which is a short distance from her workplace.Within minutes of hitting the road, she was eve-teased and groped by a bunch of motorists.As the area had no streetlights, she couldn't even make a note of their vehicle numbers,“ said Umesh M, a freelance architect.The desolate police booths in the neighbourhood were, predictably, of not much help.

Security agencies operating in Hi-Tec City admit to these loopholes in the system, but claim that efforts are on to address them. “The Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of most companies is ineffective. So, we are launching two “SHE“ shuttles and womenonly bus services from June 29. These buses will run along two routes ­ Madhapur Police Station and Hi-Tec City MMTS station,“ said Bharani Kumar Aroll, secretary , Cyberabad Security Council. `Reach Safe', a mobile app to track these buses will also be launched.

The Society for Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC) is set to launch two special programmes for the benefit of women techies. SCSC is working on developing resources within every ITITES company so that employees can be given guidance while seeking police and legal support.“Many women are often hesitant to approach the police for fear of their identity being revealed.These forums will help them cope with this and ensure that they get justice,“ said Bharani Kumar Aroll, secretary of the security council.

They will act as a medium for women employees to reach out to internal company support forums, police & law enforcement personnel. These resources will be nominated by the company and certified as Margdarshaks after formal training and certification by SCSC.

Well-recognized NGOs will be available on call to address security issues of women employees. They will provide help and even connect the women to law enforcement agencies.