Chennai women shopkeepers face threat of attack

CHENNAI: Two violent incidents in less than a week have raised concern over the safety of women who run shops and other establishments alone.
A man posing as a customer savagely attacked a woman shopkeeper in Saligramam on Monday evening and robbed her 12-sovereign gold chain. In Kotturpuram, a group of transgenders barged into a store on Friday and extorted 5,000 from the owner after threatening her.
Women who own stores in the city or are shopkeepers say they are constantly under threat and have to put up with unpleasant situations on a regular basis. The source of the threat can be an armed robber, a thief or an extortionist, they say, and rude male customers sometimes get nasty and ask solitary women shopkeepers personal questions.
Police officers say a number of women shopkeeepers have sought their help but they don’t have enough personnel to ensure that all of them receive protection.
Recalling the horror she faced last Friday when she was targeted by a group of transgenders, Parveen Sikkandar said it is difficult for women to run a business on their own in the city. When the transgenders threatened her, she tried to call out for help, but passersby ignored her and some of the people who live nearby even locked themselves inside their houses, Sikkandar said.
“Some men approach a shop run by a woman thinking she is a soft target,” she said. Sikkandar said she had a hard time lodging a complaint with police, who asked her why she parted with 5,000. “I had to give them the cash because I feared for my life,” she said.
Banumathy, 59, who a robber attacked in Saligramam for her gold chain, is still recovering in a hospital. She has been running the shop for more than a year in the locality. “After the man attacked me, I was bleeding and dazed, but I knew no one would come to my help,” she said. “I had to call my husband.”