Vimla Mehra, an IPS Officer Encouraging Women Empowerment
"It is still a man's world. You have to prove you are just as good or even better. I feel women have a far greater capacity for compassion and this gives them an edge over their male counterparts. It can't be helped that a woman is expected to manage everything. Maybe in another generation or two this will change. But for now, we have to live with this reality." said the Director General of Tihar Prisons.
Even so Mehra said that she never faced any gender discrimination in the police force, no matter how unkind the world seems. She had a very supportive system which supported all women officers equally, helping them to not only survive but also to succeed.
In the two years she spent in CAE, she gained a lot of insights on the women issues in the country. She strongly supports the need of women empowerment to make cities safer. She said that women have to be taught to fight back when the situation arises.
Many initiatives have been taken by the Delhi Police in providing self defence classes in schools and colleges for women to handle discrimination and protect themselves better.
She questions the low rate of crimes against women in cities like Mumbai or Calcutta. We need to change social stereotype and this change begins early in schools and colleges. She said “We need to change the way we raise our sons. Clearly something is wrong somewhere."
