Women’s protection: Anti-harassment ombudsperson introduces emergency alarm

ISLAMABAD: A mother’s unique idea to protect women from harassment became a global campaign in the form of ‘Becky Button.’ The Becky Button (emergency alarm) is proving to be extremely helpful in providing safety to women in public places and protecting them from harassment.

Becky Button (Emergency Alarm) is a global campaign launched by Fauzia Viqar, Federal Ombudsperson against Harassment. The Becky Button is an emergency alarm with a story of pain hidden behind its background. Rebecca, a 30-year-old woman in Lebanon, was raped and murdered by a taxi driver in 2017.

The incident left Rebecca’s mother, Jane Hong, deeply saddened and concerned about how girls can be kept safe in public places. After day and night of contemplation, she developed a small emergency alarm, which she named after his daughter Rebecca (nicknamed Becky), and then gave this button to girls in colleges and educational institutions so that when they feel in danger, they can press this button. By pressing the button, an emergency alarm starts ringing, which attracts people and scares those who intend to tease them. The Becky Button campaign is part of this effort to bring Pakistan closer to achieving gender equality. The 7,000 devices were distributed voluntarily among women.