The story of Faridah and how she is mobilising safe cities is an inspiring story (“Uganda woman leads teens in fight for safer cities,” June 9, Gulf Today). It also sheds light on the grave situation of women the world over, but especially in poorer countries where the safety of women isn’t considered much of an issue for the government because the government officials are busy with running corrupt schemes or inciting communal violence.

The issue of women’s safety thus has to be taken up by NGOs and people like Faridah who unfortunately had to go through a very ugly experience in order to rise to the defence of other girls. Safety, according to Maslow is one of the fundamental necessities of a human. And especially for women, this safety seems to have been given no importance at all. It’s a man’s world they say and I believe they are right. Should men have felt threatened, there’d have been immediate laws for the protection of men’s safety like so many anti women laws which are made by the same men with little regard to the women for whom these laws are made.

So back to the point of women’s safety, unfortunately it’s up to the woman to look after herself and other women.

J Dias
By email