CHENNAI: It goes without saying that women have it tough on the streets – you never know when you are groped, felt-up, or ‘accidentally’ touched or even blatantly catcalled by a man or a group of them. And it’s no surprise that we women are more accustomed to this, accepting it as a part of life. Not for these Women on Wheels though! As a part of their 16 Days of Campaign Against Gender Violence, Prajnya took to the roads along with other women to document their experience or views on the ongoing street harassment.
Divided into three, each team embarked on a different route with their bikes and camera phones, to speak to at least five people on the road (women, transwoman, transman, gender fluid) about their experiences before finally reaching the common point – Semmozhi Poonga. “I feel like when a girl child is born, she endures a lot of discrimination since her birth and it goes on at home, during education, and on the street. We need to spread awareness that women are equally important and deserve to be treated well,” says Dr Srilalitha, a participant in Prajnya’s ‘Stories on Wheels’ event.
Clad in Prajnya’s white t-shirts bearing the words ‘Say NO to Gender Violence’, these women rode along Saidapet, Kotturpuram and Ashok Nagar, speaking to people on the road. Unsurprisingly, many passersby gawked, many curiously listened, some silently followed them but nothing deterred these women on a mission. What’s ironic was that when men catcalled the women fighting to eliminate such harassment. But talking to women whose lives involve the roads and pedestrian platforms was an equally invigorating experience.
“I get worried when my daughter has to come home from college. She has to walk on the road, sometimes after dark. I get more worried when it’s late. My message to boys is that you should just let girls be,” said Shanthi, a tender coconut seller on her experience.
Some people’s experience resonated with the collective minds of those who deemed violence as a part of life. “There will be fights at home, a lot of screaming. But people around me keep saying that it’s okay, you just adjust to it and move on with life. I do exactly that. They say it’s a hard life and I should just go with it,” said Baby, a broomstick seller on the road.
Interestingly, some women chose not to speak much in the presence of men, highlighting the evident patriarchal hold even on the streets. When asked about what she felt about street harassment, in light of the infamous murder of the Infosys employee, Navaneetham, an idli seller, remained mum in front of her husband. “She wouldn’t know anything. She just keeps to herself here and goes home when work is over,” spoke her husband on her behalf.
She added that harassment does not happen here as it’s always patrolled by police. Could she have had more to say if her husband hadn’t been around, a lot of the ‘Women on Wheels’ wondered.
However, Sridevi’s case tells a different story. Living in a makeshift tent on the footpath of Saidapet’s Bridge, her house was destroyed in the floods last year and continues to remain so. Beginning a new life and home on the street (literally), a lot of times she has faced men sitting inside or around the tent, purposely. “We have also complained to the police but what more can we do when the house is bare open like that?” she questions. Harassment is just another woe added to her list.
For details, visit: www.prajnya.in
or mail: prajnyatrust@gmail.com