Representative Image

BENGALURU: Karnataka State Women's Development Corporation chairperson Bharathi Shankar created a controversy on Friday, saying women were raped at "unwanted parties, but not at jatres (melas)".

She was speaking at a panel discussion on women's safety during the launch of 'A Billion Eyes' campaign by B.Pac and Bangalore City police. The campaign calls upon bystanders to intervene when women are harassed.

Bharathi was answering an audience question whether women's empowerment was equal to women's safety. Listing measures for women's safety , Bharathi said, "When women go to jatre, do they get raped? They do get raped at unwanted parties."

The women's development corporation is a government of Karnataka undertaking set up to promote schemes for sustained income-generating activities among women's groups.

Bharathi compared women's safety issues to garbage segregation, saying one can't blame the government for problems in society. "About garbage problem, as a citizen I should segregate waste first. If I don't do it and keep blaming the department or corporator, what's the use?" she added.

Bharathi is a Bengaluru-based Congress leader and is a political appointee. She headed the Congress women's wing of Bengaluru.

