In what should embarrass the Indian government, a young student who ‘dared’ take a bus with her friend at 9.30pm in Delhi, the Capital City, and paid with her life is among the ten awardees of the ‘International Women of Courage Award’ by the US government.
Indeed, going by the instances and circumstances of sexual crimes that are being increasingly reported, for a woman to step out into Delhi’s streets after dusk or use public spaces or the public transport, seems to be an act of courage.
“Nine out of 10 women in the national capital feel that Delhi is unsafe or very unsafe for them. Two-thirds have experienced misbehaviour on the city’s streets. Two-thirds work in offices where there is no mechanism to deal with sexual harassment,” reports the Times of India, quoting a survey it commissioned.
Challenging this growing perception and feeling of insecurity among women in the city, a group of young professionals, activists and students—Citizen’s Collective against Sexual Assault – as part of their campaign to make public spaces safe for women are holding a ‘take back the night’ event, on the occasions of International Women’s Day, at the India Gate tonight.
But how practical is it to ‘take back the night’ in a city like Delhi? Isn’t it becoming more and more difficult to ‘take back the night’ for women, when they are being repeatedly confronted with sexual violence in public spaces. Most recently, a 19-year-old was gang-raped in a share-auto that she took outside a mall in Ghaziabad at 8.30 pm.
Says Nandini Rao of the Citizen’s Collective, “Yes and no. We are facing more restrictions because suddenly the world outside seems more scary. It is seems more frightening now because crimes are being reported more. And that is good. That is also the difficult part because restrictions on women are increasing. At the same time, because of the awareness that has happened, it has become legitimate to be out on the streets, to protest, to demand our rights as citizens. The legitimacy that we have got now has given people the courage to step out and protest.”
The intent behind an event such as ‘take back the night’, says Rao, is to take collective responsibility for public spaces and not ‘normalise’ incidents of sexual harassment and assault. “The more the number of women there are on the streets, the more safe that space is going to be. Having said that, many of us are going to continue to face violence, sexual abuse and assault on the streets. But if we step back now and say it is too difficult, we will not be reclaiming the night that is rightfully ours. Yes, it is going to be difficult. But we cannot turn back at this point. And that is something we would like to emphasise with ‘take back night’. It is to tell people it is your right to be outside and it is your right to be safe. And all of us implicit in keeping that space safe.”
Aditi Malhotra, a young professional and a member of Citizen’s Collectives says to reclaim the nights is more relevant now than ever before. “In fact, we should be out in larger numbers to be able to make a statement. We should collectively raise our voice and not lock ourselves up in the house. Especially since the environment is becoming so hostile we should be out.”
Asked how she dealt with Delhi, Malhotra said, “Delhi has always been like this. I’m from Delhi. When I’m out, I’m always alert. But it should not deter us from being who we are.”
Rao too says she is extremely alert when is out by herself. “I’m very careful. I have lived in this city long enough. I deal with the city very carefully. I remain very alert. And if I’m alone, I may be nervous. But I won’t stop myself from being alone. I will make sure that I have everything I need to handle a situation.Yet, it is fully possible that I can be attacked. I am aware that I have to careful.”
This is the second such event by CCSA, the first ‘reclaim the night’ event was held on 31 December, two days after the Delhi gang-rape victim had succumbed to injuries at the hospital.
Recalling that night, Rao said, “It was in remembrance of this wonderful woman who struggled and died for no reason at all. We were at a marketplace. We sat around in a circle and sang. It was 31 December night and people left the bars and joined us. And then we walked the streets, people we had never met or seen before joined us. And we were out till 1.30 in the morning. Imagine walking the streets of Delhi at 1.30 am. As a woman it was such wonderful experience, it was so freeing.”
Tonight, members of the collective will kick off their Women’s Day Celebration at India Gate 9 pm onwards.
Said Malhotra, “We are calling it a celebration for women. We will sing, recite poetry, perform. Anybody can join.” Added Rao, “We don’t know how it is going to be. It is definitely something we are very aware about and we will be careful.”
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