There is anger in the streets. It is simmering in homes, campuses and workplaces. Two weeks after Bengaluru’s night of shame, women from all over India are getting together to reclaim the streets with an event ‘I Will Go Out’, a nationwide campaign to protest against shackles and attitudes that restrict a woman’s movements.
In Kerala, particularly, there are increasing incidences of misogyny, the debates around opening of Sabarimala to women of all ages and the banning of women from taking part in the Agasthyakoodam trek, being just the latest issues that are causing quite an uproar.
“Every time, there is an incident like the mass molestation that took place in Bengaluru, the government reacts by imposing restrictions on the movement of women or there are snide remarks by people, who obviously don’t know better, about the way women are supposed to dress, live and work,” says Aleyamma Vijayan, gender consultant and founder of Sakhi Resource Centre for Women.
Sajna Ali, techie and keen traveller, who leads the city-based, women-only travel group Appooppanthaadi, scoffs at the ‘official’ reasons for once again banning women from the Agasthyakoodam trek, which is currently under way. “They say that the trek is too risky and difficult for women and that it is difficult to provide facility and protection to women because of that. Well that’s a load of tosh, if ever there was one! As a group we have gone on quite a few treks and I know several women who breeze through full marathons without any problem!” says the techie.
Incensed by the attempt to “protect women” by putting in place more curbs on women, Aleyamma and other women activists decided to bring the ‘I Will Go Out’ movement to the city. “Instead of installing more CCTV cameras and stopping women from travelling, the authorities must ensure that public spaces are safe for women and not confine them to certain spaces in the name of protecting them. It is a farce. There should be gender sensitisation programmes for men,” adds Aleyamma.
Young filmmaker Nayana Sooriyan also emphatically says that it is high time the government came up with gender training programmes for men. “Their attitudes must change. Public spaces and roads are for all and women must be able to use them at any time without having to face discrimination or molestation of any kind. In Kerala, one has to deal with unsavoury situations even in broad daylight. It could be in the form of unwanted remarks, intimidatory gaze or touch. The man and not the woman must face the ire of society when an incident like the one in Bengaluru takes place. Victim shaming has to be stop,” she says.
However Sradha Sreejaya voices a note of caution. Having been a spectator to the horrific incidents in Bengaluru, Sradha says one of the ways to tackle such hooligans is to file complaints and FIRs against perpetrators. “The excuse was that there were no complaints for the police to act upon. We have to speak up. Men and women must come forward in droves to file mass petitions and get the government to act. I don’t know if just a walk alone will help. Many such protests have been held before and it has not made our streets safer. We need buses 24x7, well-lit roads, clean rest rooms and a change in the mindset of men to ensure that women can use public spaces without endangering themselves.”
College student and keen biker Athira S.S. rues that one never knows from where and when the hits come, only they just keep coming. “I’m so used to verbal abuse whenever I ride my bike that I no longer hear it. The city is not all that safe for a woman biker. Recently, at Shanghumughom beach, late one evening, I came back to find that someone had deliberately let the air out of the tyres! Then, another time, in Palayam, I found that someone had scratched the visor of my helmet.”
Problems there are, in plenty, but the women say in one voice that gender sensitisation programmes can bring about a change in attitudes of men.
Since she is travelling to Pondicherry, Sradha plans to participate in the campaign there. “I feel safer in Pondicherry. Women travel in buses even at late in the night. Here, the city shuts down by 8.30 p.m. Unless that changes, our roads will continue to be unsafe for women,” she says.
Many of the women insist that ‘pink taxis’ and ‘pink buses’ will only aggravate the problem by creating exclusive zones when the need of the day is inclusive spaces. “We need to co-exist and not be confined to exclusive zones,” avers Sradha.
As celebrated author Ayn Rand once said, “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me!”
The right to safety
The event coincides with the ‘Women’s March on Washington’ in the United States, and across the world, on the same day.
The first ‘I will go out’ protest was in Bengaluru on January 11. Now, women from more cities have joined hands to bolster the movement for the safety of women.
In Thiruvananthapuram, women from all walks of life are meeting at Palayam, at 5.30 p.m.
The marches are being planned across over 20 cities and towns including Bangalore, Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
Later, a manifesto will be presented to the President to curb street harassment and promote women’s right to public spaces in India.
Film contests and poster campaigns are also being planned after January 21.
