Kanpur- India has launched a new handgun for women, named after a student who was gang-raped in Delhi in December 2012 and later died of her injuries.
Officials say it will help women defend themselves, but critics say it’s an insult to the victim’s memory.
In his large office on Kanpur’s Kalpi Road, Abdul Hameed, the general manager of the state-run Indian Ordnance Factory, brandishes Nirbheek, the factory’s tiniest gun.
“It’s small, it’s lightweight, it weighs only 500g [1.1lb], and it can easily fit into a lady’s purse.”
Hameed speaks enthusiastically about the 32-calibre revolver, praising the “special titanium alloy body, the pleasing-to-the-eye wooden handle”.
About the gun
“The six-shot gun is easy to handle and it can hit its target accurately up to 15m [50ft],” he explains, pointing out the word “Nirbheek” engraved on the barrel.
Although men can buy the gun too, Nirbheek is being pitched as India’s “first gun for women” and to make it more attractive to them, it comes packaged in a deep maroon jewellery case.
“Indian women like their ornaments,” Hameed says.
Nirbheek is a synonym of Nirbhaya – the nickname given by the Indian press to the Delhi rape victim, who could not be named under Indian laws. Both words mean fearless in Hindi.
Although work to develop a lighter gun for women began before the Delhi rape, the project was fast-tracked after the crime, which sparked protests nationwide.
The 23-year-old was raped, tortured with an iron bar and thrown from a moving bus.
Hameed says Nirbheek will deter attackers, because of the “surprise element”.
The factory began taking orders on January 5 and despite a steep price tag of $1,990 (about 4.9 million), Hameed says the response has been good, with 10 guns sold and many more enquiries.
Anti-gun activists, however, are appalled at the idea. “I am horrified, shocked and angered,” says Binalakshmi Nepram, founder of the Women Gun Survivors Network in the north-eastern state of Manipur, who says it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure the security of its citizens.
Nepram, whose organisation has been studying gun violence in eight Indian states for a number of years, says having a gun doesn’t “make you safer, it actually enhances your risk”.
“Our research shows that a person is 12 times more likely to be shot dead if they are carrying a gun when attacked,” she says.
She also says to name Nirbheek after the rape victim is an insult to the memory of Nirbhaya, because she wouldn’t have been able to afford it.
“In India, the annual income of most people is less than the cost of the gun. So to suggest that this gun will make women safer is bizarre.”
Comments
About Author
Comments Closed .