Kerela officer's ridiculous 14-second rule on women's safety

For the last few years, the Kerala government has been working hard to change the way our country perceives women in order to protect and guarantee safety for women. But sometimes, it can go too far. Kerala Excise Commissioner Rishiraj Singh recently annoyed us greatly with an absurd statement on women’s safety. While addressing an event at Kochi, he said as a warning to molesters: “Stare at a woman for more than 14 seconds and a case can be filed against you.” 

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The tweeps on social media naturally outraged over this strange statement, given that no law exists that allows unabashed staring for 14 seconds before it becomes a jailable offence.

Hmm does this mean we women walk around with stop watches? https://t.co/JHUZEfF2G2

— Dr Nandita Iyer (@saffrontrail) August 15, 2016

https://twitter.com/skodithala/status/765119940965888000

wut?? pic.twitter.com/iLMCcSYbSz

— Karthik 🇮🇳 (@beastoftraal) August 16, 2016

@thenewsminute what will they do if men stare for 12 seconds take a break and stare again? LoL :)

— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) August 15, 2016

14 seconds. This guy likes precision. And we finally have a number when looking crosses into staring zone. Thank you https://t.co/E0mxE4NgXR

— ᴋᴀᴍʟᴇsʜ sɪɴɢʜ / tau (@kamleshksingh) August 16, 2016

14 seconds is the appropriate window for lechery. It has been scientifically proven in the Vedas https://t.co/QL1CDYxqN5

— Veena (@veenavenugopal) August 15, 2016

Clearly, Twitter has nailed it. Meanwhile, our own people at SheThePeople.TV are both laughing helplessly at the inanity of Singh's statement, and wishing the people we refer to as 'the authorities' were more empathetic to women's needs.

While SheThePeople.TV correspondent Poorvi Gupta believes that Singh's intentions may have been alright, she adds that he just made the whole issue absurd. Sukanya Sharma, another SheThePeople.TV writer, agrees that Singh's statement was bizarre.

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Singh did have a few sensible points to make, though his 14-second rule swept those into the background. He urged women to learn a martial art for self-defence, and to always keep a small knife and pepper spray handy. Useful information, but we think our bureaucrats need to hit the law books before they open their mouths to speak again.

Feature image credit:  anweshanam.com

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