Flavia Agnes on the Uber Cab case

Delhi’s only knight in shining armour- the “safest way” to get around private taxi network ‘Uber’ - has now been compromised. The latest revelations in the rape case of a 26 year old woman by an Uber taxi driver, question every single system and measure that the company in question, or rather any company, has ever made tall claims about. Flavia Agnes, senior lawyer, shares her thoughts on why Delhi- in its attempts at conjuring a cocoon- has failed its daughters once again.

Interviewed by Binjal Shah for SheThePeople.TV

1. The Uber case is a new low for the city, tearing apart what was possibly the only lifeline for women in Delhi. What is your take on this case - how do you see it?

We need to build safety mechanisms for women who travel in cabs late at night alone. May be a phone app to alert about danger or a button one can press which will ring an alarm etc. In Mumbai we have women taxi service.  May be Delhi could adopt this too. No case has been reported of a woman taxi driver being molested by a passenger. What is it that makes them safe?  We need to understand this and adopt instead of pressing the panic button. Rapes occur even in our home homes, and most of them are hidden. Can we tell women that their homes are not safe and that they must leave their home and seek safe shelter elsewhere? We need to make each of our institutions and services responsible to women and ensure women's safety.

2. Until an attitudinal change is leveraged, which could take decades, let's look at the smaller picture. Do you feel Delhi is lacking in terms of systems to check crimes against women? Or is it beyond city issues and about a mindset?

It is both- a mindset and a city issue. Also, rapes occur everywhere; but those that occur in Delhi — and more so where the victim is from the middle-class — tend to get more publicity. Mindset is also important. It is the way men are socialized into looking at women as a commodity to be "ravished" or consumed.

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3. Uber has similar cases registered against them in USA and Canada as well. Given the context, how should this case be dealt with?

There are two different issues at play here. Internal controls of a cab service, licensing processes, screening of drivers etc. This should be done for all cab services, not just this one. There is the other issue of safety of women's travel at night which is a whole different issue altogether.

4. Do you think the impulsive banning of Uber was a step in the right direction? How can it solve things?

If it happens in a Meru cab or some other cab what will be the response? As I said above, the internal controls and licensing policies etc. is one issue, safety mechanisms for women are another.

Thus, experienced lawmakers feel that the systems put in place are clearly lacking, and that whatever companies are doing needs to be upped several notches to increase responsibility and accountability, rather than going the Uber way making promises in the air.