Independent filmmaker and writer Madhureeta Anand has consistently been at the forefront of gender and child rights activism through her films and writings and has even collaborated with 21 NGOs in India and abroad for the same. About 5 years ago, however, she was herself attacked by miscreants on the streets of New Delhi. Describing it as a ‘horrible incident’, she says that it made her think about an innovative approach to ensure the safety of women in public spaces.
With the help of a friend from Silicon Valley, she built an app named ‘Phree’ in 2019, which allows users to rate specific streets, spaces, and areas on the basis of the safety it affords to women and transgender communities, as well as the public, in general. Users can also describe the reasons for their rating.
Overall, the app’s vision is to empower citizens by creating a pre-emptive safety environment through knowledge dissemination and awareness. Backed by the ‘Made in India’ technology, it is open to users from around the world. Travellers, parents, women, and just about any other group looking for information related to safety will benefit from the features of this app. The transgender community in Delhi has also come forth to extend compassion and care for the society by adopting the app for their own safety.
This app is now available on Google Play Store.
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