Referring to the Guwahati case, National Commission for Women chairperson Mamta Sharma has said women should be "careful about the way they dress because such incidents are a result of blindly aping the West". She also says “aping the West blindly is eroding our culture and causing such crimes to happen”.

While this might be taken as a pragmatic advice, will dressing "carefully" or covering oneself from head to toe ensure safety of women? Are we blaming the victim instead of culprits? And, while at it, does wearing a 'western dress' harm our culture?