By Rituraj Baruah

New Delhi, Apr 22 (IANS): Mere protests over heinous crimes like rape are not enough and work is needed on the ground to ensure the safety of women, according to the newly appointed head of Ficci Ladies Organisation (FLO).

"We don't want to just appear in the newspapers holding placards. We want to go to the grassroots and educate women, teach them self-defence... to take care of themselves," Aparna or Pinky Reddy, President of FLO, told IANS in an interview.

Reddy, who assumed charge as FLO President on April 5 and is a member on the board of GVK-EMRI (Emergency Management and Research Insitute) said the recent cases of rapes in the country were "very sad" and the perpetrators of the crimes cannot be called "human beings".

She said FLO would like to work with the government for safety of women in the country, particularly in rural areas. "We need to work towards it. May be talk to the ministry and to the people concerned who are already doing a lot of work. We can partner with them and we can do much more," she said. Reddy had joined the federation around 15 years back and was the chairperson of the FLO Hyderabad chapter during 2011-2012.

Reddy further said that as president of FLO, she had plans to create a mobile application for nationwide usage by women for their safety. "When somebody comes into our country at the airport itself they (authorities) should say, 'This is the app for women and women safety'," Reddy said.

She clarified that the plans for an app and other initiatives were still in the nascent stage but would be in place within a year.

Reddy also wants to give priority to work on women's safety at the workplace.

She also spoke of her plan to support women entrepreneurs. "My target is to help low-end entrepreneurs, like housewives who are sitting at home," Reddy said.

She said FLO had been supporting women entrepreneurs for the last few years and "I think we need to give them a lot of self-confidence to take care of themselves."

Speaking about her plans to expand the network of the FLO, Reddy said: "The chapter I really want to start is the Srinagar one. But we need to work on it."

The organisation has its presence in 14 states and would start operations in Amritsar from April 23, she said.

"We have actually such a big network. If we want to bring up a kind of a programme, we can make it pan-India. Everybody can work together," she said.