KARIMNAGAR: Instead of paying lip sympathy to victims of sexual abuse, a small village in Karimnagar district is showing the way in terms of what can be done to keep sexual carnivores away from girls.
In the wake of the recent spine-chilling rape and murder of a veterinarian in Hyderabad, Vannaram, a nondescript fist-sized village in Ramadugu mandal, has decided to keep its girls from meeting such a fate.
Though the village is small, its panchayat members have a big heart, and have taken steps to ensure girls are protected from wolves in sheep’s clothing.
The villagers have sanitised the village, making it eve-teaser free, and as liquor could wake the demon in youngsters, they have decided not to let their youth touch alcohol.
The gram panchayat passed a resolution to this effect, and saw no resistance to the curbs on the freedom of men.
Youngsters and elders alike came out in large numbers to support the resolution. Though they had the measures in place earlier too, the villagers on Tuesday again took a pledge to implement them without any laxity.
They decided that any youth troubling a girl would be banished from the village.
Village secretary P Navitha said it was heartening to see residents standing up to protect girls. The villagers also decided to make a conscientious effort to drill into the minds of boys they need to respect girls.
Interestingly, there have been no incidents of misbehaviour with girls or women in the village in the last three months.
Learning about this initiative, people from neighbouring villages are visiting Vannaram and learning how to ensure that youth remain sober and sane.
Youngsters have been taught to treat girls in the village as their sisters.
A girl from the village, Pushpalatha, says: “In the past, we used to be scared to attend functions alone at night. But we are no longer afraid of anyone in the village.”