Activists of North East Girl Students’ Association stage a protest on Tuesday. Picture by UB Photos

Jan. 1: Don’t be meek and become a victim of sexual harassment. Be bold and fight back.

This was the advice the North East Girl Students’ Association today gave the women of the region.

The message came days after a 23-year medical student died after being gang-raped in Delhi.

“The incident in New Delhi is an example of how vulnerable women are. But women should become active. They should be bold enough to fight back. We appeal to the women to carry pepper spray, a knife or chilli powder and use them when somebody tries to attack them,” said Munmi Dutta, the president of the association.

Dutta said they have imparted martial arts training to their members. The new members will also be trained soon. The members of the organisation also staged a demonstration in the city, demanding a law to make hanging the only punishment for rapists.

The Aam Aadmi party abstained from celebrating the New Year as a protest against the incident.

Instead, they organised a candle-lit protest at Dighali-pukhri today to pay tribute to the victim who died last Saturday.

The rallyists demanded that the state government and law enforcement agencies take stringent measures to prevent occurrence of incidents like the Delhi gang-rape here.

Sensitisation of the police force on issues relating to women so that they deal with female victims in a sensitive manner was also one of their major demands.

“We have decided to keep away from New Year celebrations this time to condole the death of the rape victim and also to protest the rising incidence of crimes against women in the state. In fact, the molestation of a woman on GS Road has proved beyond doubt that the city, too, is not safe for women. All types of crimes like domestic violence, rape, physical assault and dowry deaths happen here though most of the time the assailants go scot-free. Those who are arrested also manage to get bail. Hence, it is time the state government creates strict laws so that the guilty cannot escape punishment,” said Pranjal Bordoloi, a member of Aam Aadmi.

“We also want the police personnel to be sensitised on issues relating to women at the time of their training,” said Bordoloi.