Entrepreneur Vineeta Singh, ex judge on Shark Tank India
Entrepreneur Vineeta Singh has slammed the new regulation at her son's school which bans girls from sitting in the first few rows of the school bus in order to "minimise contact" with drivers. The 41-year-old businesswoman described the move as "convenient", by placing more restrictions on young girls.
She further compared the offending new rule to Bengal government's "night duty may be avoided for women to extent possible" in the wake of a 31-year-old trainee doctor raped and murdered during a rest break at a Kolkata hospital on August 9.
"This week a new regulation was implemented at my son's school where girls have been banned from sitting in the first few rows of the school bus in order to "minimise contact" with the school bus drivers... Reminds me of the new West Bengal guidelines for doctors: "night duty may be avoided for women to the extent possible"," said Ms Singh, co-founder and CEO of Sugar cosmetics, in an Instagram post.
Describing the move as convenient, the businesswoman said soon schools around the country will follow this example.
"By next month institutions across the country would have done what's always been the most convenient. Put thousands of MORE restrictions on girls because of course, boys will be boys!," said Ms Singh, a former judge on Shark Tank India.
The businesswoman underscored that the new rule will only end up curtailing women's freedom and agency.
"Eventually we can create these giant protective cages for women like the ones used for doing research on sharks, because men will be men! This is NOT the change women are seeking!," she said.
"Parents of little daughters are already paranoid and protective as they live in fear. Can we not add to that burden with institutional curbs on girls? Every additional restriction is a subtle message to young girls that for their own survival they should not even expect to be treated equally and that freedom and opportunities will always be discounted for them," she said further.
She also said that the onus is on "us" to be better and not burden women by placing more restrictions.
"As a parent of two boys, I want this additional burden of responsibility to instead be on us. It is high time we raise our boys as kind humans who understand the true meaning of equality, respect and consent. If there are going to be curbs, they should be on boys so they don't cross the finer lines before bad behaviour becomes a habit, not on girls. Cages are meant for predators, not for the prey," she said.
An average of nearly 90 rapes a day were reported in 2022 in the country.