Does AAP’s all-woman commando force spell trouble ahead in Delhi?

When AAP launched its election manifesto ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, one of the more headline grabbing initiatives outlined in the document (along with free water and cheap electricity) was its innovative and somewhat outlandish concept of a special 'commando' force to protect women in the city.

Women's safety is one of the most talked about issues in Delhi. Historically considered an 'unsafe city' for its women, the issue however was catapulted into the spotlight with the brutal 16 December gangrape. The public anger and outcry that followed the incident is also seen as one of the key issues that ultimately led to the downfall of Kejriwal's predecessor, Sheila Dikshit. With the subject so top of mind in the city so close to elections, it was unsurprising that AAP focused on the issue so closely. However to say that many people were not expecting a commando force is a safe bet.

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The initiative was greeted with some trepidation as soon as it was announced.

"Former bureaucrats and army personnel often have no clue what the needs of women are. The question is what kind of perspective will these Citizen Security Forces have when it comes to women's safety. If it is the dominant, patriarchal values, then it will be of no use," said All India Progressive Women's Association Secretary, Kavita Krishnan in an interview with Firstpost. She also pointed out that the point of armed vigilantes was something that people needed to be concerned about.

Concerns notwithstanding however, AAP has begun setting the foundation for the commando force. At the helm of this effort is Delhi's newly appointed women and child welfare minister Rakhi Birla. According to this report in the Times of India, Birla has said that the initiative will begin with an all women's commando force.

"We are starting with an all-women commando force. Several ex-armymen and martial art instructors have been roped in to train women. Interestingly, more than men, women are coming forward to get trained, which is a positive sign. They will be trained in Taekwondo and then deployed on several stretches at night," she told the newspaper.

Birla has not provided much more information about the commando force, like how they plan to deal with perpetrators of harassment and how women in distress can contact them. And it is this sort of lofty vagueness about the force has fueled concerns that it could rapidly deteriorate into an armed vigilante group operating outside the powers of the law.

As RTI activist Shekhar Singh earlier pointed out to Firstpost, "The Commando forces aspect is bit worrying. The fear is that sometimes these armed forces might well be the worst perpetrators of crimes against women. From a sociological perspective, we've always seen that when there is any kind of violence, the other party always ups the ante and the cycle of violence gets worse".

The idea behind empowering the people to be able to look after themselves and their loved ones is a compelling idea, but has the potential to backfire.

As put across so powerfully by Firstpost columnist Seetha Parthasarathy:

Delhi needs an active and vigilant citizenry; but this should not become an aggressive vigilante mode, which is susceptible to misuse. The initial lot of AAP volunteers may be an idealistic bunch who will not misuse their powers, but can AAP stand guarantee for each and every volunteer, especially those flocking to it in droves after it formed the government?