Train Travelling at Night made Easier: Me Mukti Marshal launched by Ms. Smita Thackeray
Women to the Rescue of the Women! Me Mukti Marshal launched by Ms. Smita Thackeray is your new friend-on-the-train who promises to be a strong companion until you alight. The team of 13 well trained women will travel on the Western Railway trains between 9.30 pm and 12.30 am between Andheri and Borivali and Mumbai Central and Churchgate to ensure you’re never alone. The women, trained in self defense, will be armed with a baton and pepper spray to protect you from trouble.
Ms. Smita Thackeray explains, “From March 8, you will never feel alone or unsafe on the train at night. Just reach out to the red-and-brown clad Me Mukti Marshal who’ll help you fend off miscreants.”
Shibani Kashyap & Vaishali Samant came forward to support the launch of Me Mukti Marshal, event managed by Aarnavv Shirsat; 3rd Rock Entertainment!
A unique initiative by the Mukti Foundation, the Me Mukti Marshals understand your need for a companion on the local trains. The Mumbai local railway, once the city’s safe travel lifeline, has witnessed a steady rise in crimes against women. Statistics by the Mumbai Government Railway Police for 2013 state that there’s been a 80 per cent increase in cases of sexual harassment of women in the trains. Can we forget how a man got in to the ladies compartment of a western line local train and attempted to rape a nurse who was travelling alone in the unguarded coach last July? Or the case of a foreign tourist who was attacked on a train by a robber? Last year, data shows that there were 76 cases of crimes against women, including rape, molestation and kidnapping, registered between January 1 and November 30.
The Me Mukti Marshals will only assist the Railway Police in their fight against crimes. With a baton and pepper spray, she will only deter an attacker before helping the victim take the miscreant to the police authorities. “The police and authorities are doing all they can to protect women in the railway premises. As an NGO, the Mukti Foundation appreciates their work and our Me Mukti Marshal is an effort to assist the authorities in curbing crimes and attempt to make women commuters feel safe during non-peak hours. Lakhs of women take the local train every day. Working women often return home late at night and at such times, the families are worried about the safety of their daughters and wives. Our Marshals will be a friend and companion until the women get off the train,” explains Smita Thackeray, Founder-Chairperson; Mukti Foundation.
For the first few months, the Marshals will travel between 9.30 pm and 12.30 am on the Andheri-Borivali section and the Mumbai Central to Churchgate section on the Western Line before expanding their presence on the Harbour and Central Lines.
