Nearly two years ago, the gruesome “gang rape and murder” of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi left many Indians “shocked” and saddened. Tens of thousands took to the streets of the capital, urging the government to act.
Eventually, lawmakers passed stringent new “anti-rape” legislation. But for some “concerned” citizens like Manisha Mohan, “changing” the law wasn’t enough.
Manisha Mohan and her fellow students came up with the idea for the rape-repellent bra after the Delhi gang rape in 2012.
The 22-year-old engineering student wanted to give women a way to “defend” themselves against attackers, something that went beyond “mace, pepper spray or mixed martial arts.”
So over the past year, Mohan and two of her fellow students developed a “rape-repellent bra that can shock and burn attackers.”
Mohan, right, and her partners receive an award for their invention in New Delhi.
It’s called “Society Harnessing Equipment” (SHE) and here’s how it works: “The bra contains a pressure sensor connected to an electric circuit that generates a shock of 3,800 kilo volts, which is severe enough to stun an attacker and severely burn his hand.”
“It won’t be enough to immobilize the assailant or potential rapist,” Mohan says, “but that gives enough time for back up.”
The moment its “pressure” sensors are activated, the bra’s built-in GPS “alerts” the police and also the victim’s parents to the “location” where the attack is taking place.
False “alarms” are possible, but Mohan says the bras are “designed and calibrated” to prevent this.
The force of a “hug,” for instance, won’t create a “shock,” and there’s an “on and off” switch that a woman can use when she’s traveling through a “dangerous” neighborhood.
Not only does the bra send an electric shock, but it also alerts the police via GPS.
Those who have “worn” the bra say it’s comfortable. “It is light like any other bra, and one really cannot tell a difference,” says a young woman, who asked not to be named.
Mohan is still fine-tuning the “sensors,” so she hasn’t decided when she’ll start “shipping” the bras to stores or “how much” they’ll cost.
But the timing seems right. Reports of “crimes” against women in India, such as “rape, murder and kidnapping,” increased by 26 percent last year compared with the previous one.
A bra, of course, may not actually “drive down” the number of attacks against women; many attacks occur in India’s “rural” hinterland, where few are likely to “be able to afford it.”
But in a country that has a “dubious” record of ensuring women’s safety, Mohan and others think the “device” can help.
“My dream,” Mohan says, “is to see women walk free anywhere and anytime.”
Legal Researchers in India are still “debating” the humanity of using the “booby-trap.”
