Thoughts on women's safety in China

Annoyingly though, of late, a few reports on disappeared women have emerged in the Chinese media.

Gao Qiuxi, a 19-year-old female student from Nanjing in eastern China's Jiangsu province, went missing on Aug 12. A month later police said that she had been robbed and killed on that day. In the past three months, some disappearances or sexual assaults were reported from other cities too.

The incidents also generated comments in the country's social media, with many users saying that Chinese women have taken their safety for granted.

In the light of the reports, security officials have urged women to not be complacent. Police recently held a self-defense class for students at the Beijing Film Academy, saying that more would likely follow elsewhere.

Experiences of fighting gender crimes in India, for instance, show that it doesn't hurt women to learn a few moves against sexual predators.

Last week, judges at the Supreme People's Court were quoted by newspapers as cautioning young females against easily trusting strangers, especially on the Internet, after coming across cases of women being kidnapped, defrauded, murdered or raped by people they had met online.

A Chinese woman in her 30s, who teaches Mandarin to foreigners in Beijing, says: "My female friends and I need to be careful."

Law enforcers have asked women to avoid boarding "black cabs", a tempting proposition for partygoers on weekend nights, when it is difficult to find licensed taxis in some parts of Beijing at least.

The unregistered taxis usually charge more money to ferry passengers and are difficult to track down in the event of a crime.

There's also been a surge in the sale of self-protection tools such as pepper sprays and loud alarms on tabao.com, China's largest online retailer, since September, media reports say.

"Some Chinese women also become victims because they're conned by men who pretend to be rich," says a veteran male journalist.

Safeguard tips for young female students being circulated in educational institutions include keeping parents informed of one's location and being escorted by a male, if possible.

Feminists would argue that women are the face of transition in modern China and will want to stay independent not just monetarily but physically too, without restrictions on their clothing, movement or social practices.

But then, others observe, "better safe than sorry", even if it's a clich.

satarupa@chinadaily.com.cn