Rape by MNCs
A 24 years old woman employee of HP in Bangalore was allegedly raped and brutally murdered by the company’s driver, on December 13.
Some time ago, a woman working in a Call Center in Chennai died in her frantic attempt to save herself when early morning she was chased by some young men.
As outrage of one’s modesty, molestation, rape, murder are some of the costs which women have to pay for making a living working for MNCs, it is time for each state and the Centre to review the insecure effects of globalization which has allowed the MNCs enter the country in a big way, and the conditions under which women work.
In the instant case the driver, Shiv Kumar, had confessed to raping and murdering Pratibha after he picked her up from her house for night duty at the HP Call Centre.
Instead of taking her to the office, located in the electronics city, the driver took her to Anjanapura on the outskirts of Bangalore south and raped the married woman around 3 a.m. Tuesday, December 13. The driver even robbed the victim of her mobile and cash (Rs.300) before disappearing from the spot
In his confession, Shiv Kumar said he slit Pratibha’s throat in panic when she tried to raise an alarm and call the office on her mobile. That she was the lone employee being ferried to the office for duty in the odd hours, is important, which added to her agony, insecurity, rape, and eventual murder.
The rape and murder raise a number of issues of which the most important are the responsibility of the MNC to provide security to its women employees on night duty for escorting them to office and back home, the role of the State in discharging its vigilance and welfare duties, and the brutalizing effect on human beings in general of the globalization monster.