India’s Gun for Women Backfires
some gun nut who is using the sexual assaults to try to push gun sales which mostly wealthy men would be able to buy.
<But priced at 122,360 rupees (roughly $1,900), it’s unclear just how female-friendly the gun is. Only 10 have been sold so far.
Then there’s the question of whether more guns actually make things any safer for women. Research shows that a person is 12 times more likely to be shot and killed if they are carrying a gun when attacked, according to India’s Women Gun Survivors Network. In fact, it is illegal in India to carry weapons in several public places—including malls and offices—meaning women with guns wouldn't legally be able to protect themselves (or could potentially put themselves in more danger).
Perhaps the most faulty logic of "guns for women" is that it falls into the same pattern of asking women to better defend themselves instead of addressing and reversing cultural norms that perpetuate India’s high incidences of sexual violence. Teaching men not too rape sounds like a much more sustainable campaign to combat sexual assault than arming their potential victims. >
http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/cheats/2014/01/18/india-s-gun-for-women-backfires.html
<Binalakshmi Nepram, founder of the Control Arms Foundation of India, described the new gun as "an insult."
When asked what kind of the clientele Hamied was looking for the new handgun, he conceded it was likely unaffordable for those outside middle and upper income groups.
"It's not for poor women," he said.
"Gun licenses are given rarely -- only to those with money and clout, and that means overwhelmingly men. Poor women in India are unlikely to have the means or the access to own a gun," said Ruchira Gupta, a women's rights activist who is founder of Apne Aap Women Worldwide.>
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/13/world/asia/india-women-gun/
= new reply since forum marked as read
