Lotus Park women to combat crime
The Ladies of Lotus Park Sub Forum's members will soon be fully trained and ready to reclaim their community.
AN all-women group in Lotus Park, Isipingo is making great strides to combat crime in their area.
The Ladies of Lotus Park Sub Forum’s members will soon be fully trained and ready to reclaim their community.
The Lotus Park’s sub forum, the Crime Policing Forum (CPF) was born among the men of Lotus Park. They then invited families of Lotus Park to join them.
“My son and I decided to join,” said Zarina Assan, chairwoman of the all-female group.
“We would go out at night and patrol the various duty points. At that time I was the only woman among a team of men. Mr Denzil Reddy, chairman of the men’s CPF decided to give me an opportunity as I was the only woman in the group. He suggested I start a group of women crime-fighters.
I formed a WhatsApp group and it just grew from there.”
Zarina is a businesswoman who cites combating crime as her hobby. The team aims to empower women to fight against crime.
“Today, women are seen as soft targets,” she said. “We now have Captain Mahabeer who has offered us free combat training, enabling us to fight crime. We will begin soon.”
Zarina has a vision of a crime-free community. In time and through the all-woman forum, she hopes to combat other concerns such as rape and drug abuse, topics victims are often afraid to openly talk about.
The executive committee (EXCO) elected by the women include Zarina Assan (chairwoman), Clara Reddy (deputy chair), Pranisha Pillay (secretary), Maggie Govender (deputy secretary), Mandy Pillay (treasurer) and Premilla Ramchander (PRO).
Some 40 Lotus Park women make up the group, while the six EXCO members run it and attend meetings.
“My secretary Pranisha Pillay works closely with me. She is a young mom and is so dedicated, working effortlessly, sacrificing time after hours to ensure that all administration work is completed.” Zarina expressed her gratitude to all the EXCO women and members of the forum.
On the topic of religion and culture, Zarina clarified that: “Safety doesn’t need culture. Fighting crime doesn’t need to be religion based.”
The sight of these brave women of Lotus Park armed with stun guns, pepper spray, baseball bats and air rifles are sure to make any criminal not only look twice, but think twice too.
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