Chennai: Safety concerns for women in India, across the globe and the nation itself, are at alarming numbers with rape incidents and sexual assaults widely reported form all major cities.
17 men raping an 11-year-old minor in Chennai is the latest heinous crime reported and now Switzerland team has arrived in Chennai without their best player for the ongoing World Junior Squash Championships, New Indian Express reported.
According to Switzerland team coach’s Pascal Bhurin, their best player- Ms. Ambre Allinckx is missing because of the rising sexual assaults against women in India.
“Ambre Allinckx is our top-ranked women’s player. She couldn’t make it because her parents did not want. They have been reading reports on the internet about how unsafe India is for women and didn’t want to take the risk of sending their daughter over. However, we have not experienced any disturbance so far.”
Not only the Switzerland team was concerned about their players safety in India but Teams from Iran, US and Australia have also expressed their concerns and asked their players not to leave the team on their own.
“We heard about such issues. So I prefer that my daughter stays with the team always,” says Iranian player Niki’s father Amir.
“Her safety is the primary concern. It’s also because she isn’t familiar with the country or the language.”
Even Team Australia is taking precautionary measures. “We always have somebody with us. When I travel to other countries like New Zealand, I go out and feel alright. Out here, we always have a guy with us,” says Australian player Alex Haydon.