Tracking women: MP govt's move sparks controversy

New Delhi: Controversy has erupted after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's statement that working women of the state will be monitored by the police to ensure their safety.

According to Indian Express report, the Chief Minister said that a new system will be put in place, under which any woman moving out of her house for her work will register herself at the local police station, and she will be tracked for her safety.

The chief minister was addressing "Samman," an awareness programme on crime against women, where he also said that a helpline number will be provided to the women, enabling them to call for help when in danger. He also said that installation of panic buttons in public transportation vehicles will be made mandatory in the state.

However, the statements have triggered a controversy where some disapproved the misogynist attitude of the BJP government.

Tagging the news, Rituparna Chatterjee, deputy editor of The Independent, said that the government has "found one more way to restrict women's movement in the name of safety."

"A new system will be put in place under which any woman moving out of her house for her work will register herself at local police station and will be tracked for her safety."

They've found one more way to restrict women's movement in the name of safetyhttps://t.co/NphdUz4OHo

— Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) January 13, 2021

Ravi Nair, a Twitter user, said that the state government wants to restrict the movement of women in the name of safety.

MP govt wants any woman moving out of house for her work to register herself at the local police station. And she will be tracked for her safety.

In a nut shell, the BJP state govt wants to restrict the movement of women in the name of safety.https://t.co/pwVswY1ffk

— Ravi Nair (@t_d_h_nair) January 13, 2021

Many other Twitter users have termed the move as barbaric, retardant and anti-progressive.