This Is Not Feminism. This Is Math.

A lot of people ask me this question.

Sometimes politely. Sometimes not.

"Why do you always talk about women? Look at today's condition. Women are getting rights. There are reservations for them. Special schemes. Special seats in schools and colleges. Why do you still act like women have it so bad?"

I want to answer this question honestly. Not defensively. Not with anger. With clarity.

The question nobody is asking

Yes. Women have reservations today. Women have schemes. Women have special seats in colleges and government jobs and public transport.

All of this is true.

But here is the question nobody is asking.

You gave her a seat in college. But is she safe walking to the bus stop at 7 PM coming back from there?

You gave her a government scheme. But is she safe in the office where she goes to apply for it?

You gave her reservations. But is she safe on the train she takes every morning to get to work?

A reservation means nothing if she cannot step out of her door.

A scheme means nothing if she is not safe enough to use it.

Safety is not a scheme. Safety is not a reservation. Safety is the foundation without which everything else collapses.

Safety is for everyone. Women's safety is the urgency.

I believe safety is for all. Men face safety issues too. Children face safety issues. The elderly face safety issues. Nobody is dismissing that.

But we cannot look at all problems at once. We need to start somewhere. And the numbers tell us where to start.

The only difference between different safety issues is the numbers. Somewhere less. Somewhere more. And right now the numbers around women's safety in India demand urgent attention.

A doctor who focuses on cancer is not saying heart disease does not matter. A road safety campaign that targets drunk driving is not saying pedestrian safety does not matter.

They are addressing the problem in front of them. With the urgency it deserves.

That is all this is.

Between the land of goddesses and the ground reality

We live in a country that worships goddesses.

Durga. Lakshmi. Saraswati. Kali. We light diyas for them. We fast for them. We recite shlokas about honouring the women in our lives.

Yatra naaryastu pujyante, ramante tatra devataah. Where women are worshipped, the gods reside.

And yet. Every 71 seconds.

Somewhere between the land of goddesses and the ground reality, a completely different mentality has taken root in some minds. Not all minds. Not most minds. But enough minds that the numbers have become what they are.

I do not think there should even be a debate about whether talking about this is biasness. It is completely wrong to frame urgency as bias. The numbers are not biased. The data is not feminist. The reality is not an opinion.

This is for the men reading this

Most men are good. I want to say that clearly.

Most men are fathers and brothers and husbands and friends who love the women in their lives. Most men are as horrified by these numbers as anyone else. Most men also wait for that message. I reached safely. Most men also stay awake until it comes.

This is not about blaming men. This is about a system that needs to teach both men and women. Women need the tools, the knowledge, and the confidence to protect themselves. And men need the awareness, the empathy, and the understanding to stand beside them. Changing that system is not a threat to anyone. It is a gift to everyone.

When she is safe, her father sleeps. When she is safe, her mother breathes. When she is safe, her brother stops checking his phone every hour. When she is safe, her children grow up watching a woman who moves through the world with confidence.

Women's safety is not a women's issue. It is a human issue. It lives in every home. Every family. Every relationship.

We need to start somewhere

This blog. This podcast. RIKA. Mission Sankalp. SURAKSHA SHAKTI.

None of this is about making women victims. None of this is about saying men are the enemy. None of this is a political statement or a feminist agenda.

This is about one simple belief.

Every woman deserves to walk out of her door to college, to work, to a friend's house, to buy vegetables, to take a walk at 8 PM without having to calculate the risk.

She should not have to hold her keys between her fingers.

She should not have to pretend to be on a phone call.

She should not have to text I reached safely so someone can sleep.

And until that day comes, we keep talking. We keep building. We keep educating. We keep going to villages and schools and societies and saying you deserve to be safe. Here is what you can do about it.

We start somewhere. We started here.

And this is just the beginning.