Pepper spray isn’t enough in India.
Anti-rape jeans, footwear and innerwear are the new security devices women are coming up with to counter India’s growing problem of crime against women.
On Friday, 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.
Inventors Diksha Pathak and Anjali Srivastava show off a pair of red jeans that sends out electric shocks while Rijul Pandey and Shalini Yadav hold shoes of a similar kind designed by them
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.
Rijul Pandey and Shalini Yadav, two computer science students at a private engineering college in Varanasi, have designed sandals that would give an electric shock to any molester and send an instant SOS message to those specified from the wearer’s list of mobile contacts.
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 sandal, said, “We conceived of 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.”
Alarm
In Chandigarh, engineer-in-the making Manisha Mohan has developed what she believes is the perfect way to deter a would-be rapist-a bra designed to deliver a powerful electric shock, severe enough to burn.
Manisha, currently pursuing a B.Tech. in automobile engineering at SRM University in Chennai, came up with the antirape lingerie with two fellow students – Rimpi Tripathi and Niladri Basu – as a reaction to the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi in December 2012.
The high-voltage undergarment is fitted with a pressure sensor connected to an electric circuit, and has been specially calibrated to ensure that it is not accidentally activated.
The bra, named SHE (Society Harnessing Equipment), can also send a text message with the victim’s GPS coordinates to a relative or friend and the local police station, Manisha said.
“The device for triggering the electric shock is placed in bi-layer fabric, which ensures insulation for the wearer. There is also a self-actuation switch so that the wearer can activate it in an unsafe environment,” she said.
The 21-year-old said she came up with the garment because she felt it was her “moral responsibility” to do something to prevent crimes like the Delhi gang-rape which traumatised the entire country.
“I also believe that all problems can be handled through engineering solutions,” Manisha told Mail Today.
Asked if she also believed that women would readily take to her unique bra, Mohan said: “I’m personally working on it. Let’s see how it works out.”
Mohan and her fellow students Rimpi Tripathi and Niladri Basu are working on making the bra more practical.
They also want to incorporate Bluetooth technology to link the bra to a smartphone app.
Manisha has been selected for the prestigious ‘Innovation Scholars In-Residence’, a 20-day programme to be hosted by the Rashtrapati Bhawan from July 1.
Four scholars are selected from across the country for the scheme every year.
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