三周前发生在印度首都新德里的轮奸案让很多女性比以往更加担忧自己的人身安全，各类防身术课程和辣椒防狼喷雾的需求剧增。新德里是印度的“强奸案之都”，2011年发生的强奸案件是孟买的两倍多，这里的女性在夜间出行或乘坐公共交通时都会格外留心。12月16日的轮奸案发生后，更多的女性打算参加自卫防身课程增强自我保护能力，辣椒喷雾和强奸警报等防身装备的销量也明显增加，甚至有女性开始申请持枪许可证。调查显示，话务中心和IT公司的女性职员生产力近期下降了4成，因为很多女员工缩短了工作时间或者干脆辞职回家。对于这种恐慌现状，有人表示，不应让女性自己负责自身的安全，社会真正需要的是一个可以保护大家的体系。
A woman spars with a trainer during a self-defense class in New Delhi, where the gang rape of a woman in December has many women worrying about their safety. (AFP)
After nearly three weeks of lurid reporting on a horrifying gang rape in New Delhi, women in the Indian capital say they are more anxious than ever, leading to a surge in interest in self-defense classes.
New Delhi has long been known as the "rape capital of India", with more than twice as many cases in 2011 as the commercial hub Mumbai, and special care is taken by most women when traveling at night or on public transportation.
But the gang rape on Dec 16, in which a 23-year-old student was repeatedly violated on a moving bus and assaulted with an iron bar, has brought concern to new levels amid increased focus on the city's safety record.
Self-defense trainer Anuj Sharma said he has fielded a flurry of calls from concerned women interested in taking classes at his training institute in south New Delhi.
"There has been a certain surge in the level of demand for services like self-defense and personal protective training," Sharma said at a class in a school hall, echoing comments from other martial-arts experts in the city.
In the classes, Sharma teaches her basic self-defense, including how to squirm free from the grip of an attacker and disable them with a punch or kick to the groin.
Across the sprawling city of 16 million, shopkeepers say sales of pepper spray and rape alarms are up, while many young women report that relatives have become more concerned than ever about their welfare.
One newspaper reported this week that women had started coming forward to apply for gun licenses.
In the outsourcing industry, rocked by a rape and murder of an employee late at night in 2005, some companies have begun providing extra security to female employees who work late shifts.
"After the New Delhi incident, we ensure that at least one security guard is present in our late-night cabs," said Anurag Mathur, a human resources executive of a New Delhi-based company.
A survey published on Friday by industry group ASSOCHAM showed a 40 percent fall in the productivity of women employees at call centers and IT companies because many had reduced their hours or had quit.
As anxiety takes root, in which many cases women simply stay at home more, activists have raised their voices to condemn the government for failing to offer protection.
"Why should we live in a society where every woman is made responsible for her own security and safety? What we need really is a system which will protect us," said Ranjana Kumari of the New Delhi-based Center for Social Research.
This has been the source of sometimes-violent protests against the government over the last two and a half weeks as incensed women led marches and demonstrations in cities across the country.
However, statistics show that any self-defense techniques are most likely to be needed against a family member or neighbor, with more than 95 percent of alleged perpetrators in rape cases being someone known to the victim.
There were 24,206 cases of rape registered in 2011 in India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, but this is thought to be gross under-representation of the problem.
In the cities, 17 percent of cases were recorded in New Delhi, compared with 8.6 percent for Mumbai.
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