HYDERABAD: Hundreds of women took to the Necklace Road on Saturday to ‘reclaim the night’, reiterate their demand for right to public spaces after the alleged mass molestation of women in Bengaluru on New Year’s Eve and also to condemn insensitive remarks made by politicians in the aftermath of the incident. The protest that started from Jal vihar and concluded at People’s Plaza, started a little after 5pm - not just in Hyderabad but in 30 other cities.
The overreaching slogan at the nation-wide protest was that of ‘Azaadi’ from patriarchy and saw participants from across age groups with youngest being six-and-half to the oldest in their 60s. “I am here to support the cause. It is sad that there is a need for a protest like this to be able to walk without being touched or groped on the streets,” Mridula Das, a leadership and life coach, says as she stops to catch some breath.
Publicised under the viral hashtag #IWillGoOut that started on Facebook, the campaign within a fortnight became a national movemnet. The #IWillGoOut team reach grew to a little over 2,300 members with about 80 active participants who organised the marches in cities and towns of the country including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai, Nagpur, Thrissur, Goa, etc. An online campaign was also held in Kashmir. Varsha Bhargavi, the coordinator for the Hyderabad chapter, says though anger was simmering since the Nirbhaya rape case, the Bengaluru incident was the tipping point, one that turned the angst into a movement.
“We need to recognise that restricting women and girls from going out is clear violation of their rights. Today women hesitate to venture out alone because the streets are not safe. But the underlying problem is the law enforcement should ensure that streets are safe for all genders. There is only one way to eradicate and uproot the fear - Go out and reclaim public spaces for women,” she asserts.
Heading the march was Dr Fatima Shahnaz, a professor, author and human rights activist who says the walk is not just for empowerment of women but is also important for men who are now afraid of them. “Women deserve equality because they are educated. They deserve respect because they have earned it. And this is terrorising men and creating a fear psychosis among them,” she says. Ram Gopal, an undergraduate student of St Joseph’s College agrees with the activist. “I feel such marches should be held for men and not women,” he says.