A woman attacking a cab driver in India’s capital city of Delhi has sparked an uproar on social media, with netizens demanding strict action against the accused.
In a short video clip of the assault that is doing the rounds on the internet, a woman wearing a blue t-shirt and mask can be seen holding the collar of the cab driver and throwing punches and slapping him in the middle of the road.
The woman was reportedly travelling on a scooter with another woman and got stuck in traffic. When the cab driver refused to let her pass the woman lost her temper and parked her scooter on the road, thus blocking the cab driver's way.
When the cab driver stepped out of the car, the woman started abusing and slapping him.
Several passers-by came forward to help the cab driver and stop the woman hitting him but she went on to scream abuse at them as well.
One of the eyewitnesses who filmed the fracas got into a slanging match with the woman.
Netizens are condemning the attack and urging the local police and authorities to take strict action against the woman.
Reacting to the incident, Barkha Trehan, a social activist and president of the National Commission for Men (Purush Aayog), told Sputnik that the cab drivers are so scared because of such attacks that they don’t file a police complaint against the women who assault them.
"Cab drivers fear that if they make a police complaint, the women, in turn, will charge them falsely with molestation or rape. Moreover, if they get into a legal battle, it will not only take years to seek justice but would also be an expensive affair," Trehan said.
She added that women take the law into their own hands, and thrash and harass cab drivers in the name of self-defence. And because of the lack of proper laws for the safety and protection of men, no action is taken against these women who go scot-free.
"There are laws for the safety and protection of women but not for men. Until and unless we have gender-neutral laws, and have police officials and politicians who are concerned for the grievances of men, there will be no change," Trehan said.