Ahmedabad: Posters allegedly sponsored by the Ahmedabad traffic police as part of a safety campaign have sparked public outrage for suggesting that women should stay home to avoid rape.

The posters, which appeared in parts of the city including Sola and Chandlodia, featured statements such as, “Do not attend late-night parties, you could be raped or gangraped,” and “Do not go with your friend to dark, isolated areas, what if she is raped or gangraped?”

Critics slammed the messaging as regressive and insensitive, accusing the authorities of placing the burden of safety on women rather than addressing systemic issues.

Following public backlash and questions raised by the opposition over women’s safety in Gujarat, the posters were removed from road dividers where they had been pasted.

Satarkta Group, an NGO, had created the controversial posters without the consent of the traffic police, she claimed.

"The NGO had approached us and said they wanted to organise traffic awareness programmes in schools and colleges and wanted our staff to accompany them. We were shown posters related to traffic awareness. But such controversial posters were not shown to us and were plastered without our consent," Desai said.

She added that the posters were immediately removed when the issue was brought to their notice.

Gujarat Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took a swipe at the BJP-led government, saying the posters exposed the state of women's safety.

"The BJP government in Gujarat talks about women's empowerment, but the ground reality is completely different. In the last three years, more than 6,500 incidents of rape and more than 36 gang rapes have occurred in Gujarat, with more than five rapes per day," the AAP said in a statement.

"The chief minister and BJP leaders talk about women's safety, but today in a big city like Ahmedabad, these posters express the reality of Gujarat. Our question to the CM is whether the women of Gujarat should go out of the house at night or not?" it said. PTI