THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Anitha and Chandralekha, two anganwadi teachers, were jovial as they started walking from PMG Junction, Thiruvananthapuram.
Friends for several years, for the natives of Vatiyoorkaavu, it was a new experience. “We have attended Women’s Day rallies and events. But walking on the streets late at night with many women is a different experience.
We realised it only once we started walking,” says Anitha. They participated in the Freedom at Midnight event organised by the department of women and child development on Friday, as part of a group of 30 women.
Many of them saw the initiative a beginning of a change. “It feels special. A lot of women, who don’t even know each other, are walking together. It is a small step. Women have a long way to go. But this will definitely be the beginning of a change,” says Ramini, a freelancer from Chennai who settled in Thiruvananthapuram 12 years ago.
The event was inaugurated by Chief Minister V D Satheesan. Speaking at the event, he said, a safe environment should be created in the state where women can walk out at any time.
“Women’s gatherings should give a message that they too have a role in the socio-economic development of the state. Our aim is to make women self-sufficient and we are working for it. This event will mark the beginning of the change,” said the CM.
He also walked along with the women and children. Ministers Bindu Krishna and K A Thulasi also walked from PMG Junction to Overbridge Junction. But Chandralekha believes women should have the courage to come out of the house and reclaim the streets, no matter what the time is.
M Zeenath of Shecycling says women should be confident to go out always not just when men are not there. “Women in their late 30s and 40s should be able to go out whenever necessary, not just when men are not around. Our public places have traditionally been only for men at night. Women should also have access to cities and towns at night,” she highlights.
