Anti-rape jeans, footwear and inner wear are the new security devices women are coming up with to counter India’s growing problem of crime against women.
Two such designs – sandals that deliver electric shocks and jeans that have an inbuilt SOS button – were unveiled by college girls in Uttar Pradesh, a state in the news almost every day for incidents of rape and murder.
And this isn’t just an Uttar Pradesh anomaly, for another design of this kind-a bra that delivers a shock powerful enough to cause burns and sends out the wearer’s GPS coordinates too-has made it to the prestigious ‘Innovation Scholars In-Residence’ programme to be hosted by Rashtrapati Bhawan from July 1.
Two other students of the same institute, Diksha Pathak and Anjali Srivastava, have developed an electronic device that can be easily sewn into a pair of jeans. The kin of the victim would be immediately informed of any molestation attempt by a preset text alert. Both devices are linked to the GPS system through which the location of the victim can be pinpointed.
Rijul and Shalini, who have made the electronic sandals, said, “We conceived this idea six months ago. While there are pepper sprays and other such things in the market, we thought of developing safety devices that don’t need to be carried separately. The moment we hit someone with our sandal, it would send messages to friends and family members. It will also give a shock to the criminals and immobilise them for a few seconds. It can be used by any girl.” They are now on the lookout for firms interested in buying their design for large-scale manufacture.
Diksha and Anjali, who have developed the ‘anti-rape jeans’, said: “There is a small button in it to raise an alarm and alert friends as well as family members on their mobiles and telephones. It can also be linked to the telephone numbers of police stations.”
