There’s nothing unusual about men loitering on the streets of Mumbai late into the night. Few would give them a second glance. In any case, men’s presence dominates everyday public space. But what if those loitering men were not dressed in jeans-shirt, shorts or lungi — instead they walked the street in brightly-coloured skirts, tube tops, dresses and saris? Then went for a stroll on the beach, ate ice-golas and laughed loudly into the night sky. What then?
You would look at them once, perhaps more times. You’d probably stare, maybe mumble a comment about the strangeness of hairy legs below skirts and a bearded face in a sari. You might wonder aloud about their sexuality. So busy will you be looking and thinking about this group of men-dressed-in-women’s-clothing wandering city streets that you might forget to look at the women accompanying them.
That’s what happened when the women organising the Why Loiter movement in Mumbai — which encourages women to lay claim to public space by taking to streets, parks, open areas to walk, play, loiter more often — recently celebrated their fourth anniversary by encouraging men to loiter with them but in women’s clothing.
“What we witness is a gender role reversal, where women are walking and protecting these men-dressed-in-women’s-clothing from stares and comments while being ignored themselves,” laughs Neha Singh, founder of the Why Loiter movement. “This is so different from what we women regularly experience in public space.” Neha initiated ‘Walk Like a Woman’ first in 2015, inspired by men in Turkey and Azerbaijan who that year donned miniskirts and took to the streets to protest violence against women in the wake of the murder of Ozgecan Aslan, a 20-year-old student who resisted rape in a bus. They raised the issue of safety for all women, whether dressed conservatively or not.
Most of the brave men who took part in ‘Walk Like a Woman’ say that initially they felt awkward wearing women’s clothing. But it helped them to intimately understand women’s experiences of public space. Says Vikrant, a performer, writer and filmmaker who wore a printed skirt to one of the earliest such events, “It was unnerving at first because I suddenly felt watched, but since we were in a group it felt like a safe space.” Himadri, who has a doctorate in Physics and took part this year in a skirt, says, “You become aware of everyday male privilege and recognise the vulnerability of women who access public space just to hang out.”
An important outcome of the exercise is acknowledging the entire spectrum of genders that exist and have a right to be in public space whatever their dress. The visual effect of men dressed in women’s clothing not only challenges everyday norms of what men and women wear, but also “warms up people from street urchins to families to policemen to come talk to us on the road, beach, or train. They are drawn by curiosity but it leads to interesting conversations around gender stereotyping, victim blaming, or labelling ,” says Neha.
All the men who take part in this say that it opens up a well of conversations that they feel more men need to engage in with women and between themselves. “Men need to have women friends with whom they can converse on topics like menstruation, or violence,” says Himadri. Adds Arpit, “I would say all spaces belong to all genders and women should not be judged by what they wear or do in public space.” Vikrant says men need to understand that often women are harassed and shamed in such subtle ways that it’s difficult for them to fully express it.
Clearly, men need to be part of nuanced conversations on gender and public space access — and if a walk in women’s clothing opens that up, then here’s to more ‘Walk Like a Woman’ initiatives.
Sameera Khan is a Mumbai-based journalist, researcher and co-author, Why Loiter? Women & Risk on Mumbai Streets
