@ Kochi
IN the backdrop of the lapses in police investigation into the Walayar case, ‘Too Much Equal’—the first feminist meme page in Kerala—organised a peaceful protest in front of the Ernakulam Shiva Temple on Monday. Symbolic of their belief that justice had shut its eyes in this case, all the protesters had worn blindfolds. The protesters dispersed after 45 minutes of silent demonstration.
Taking online activism
to the streets
‘Too Much Equal’, an Instagram page, currently has more than 33,000 followers. Five days prior to the event, the page administrator had called upon their subscribers to gather at the venue with blindfolds and appropriate placards. The idea was to bring attention to how law enforcement turns a blind eye to the issues of gender and caste.
“When we first posted the invite, thousands of people responded,” said Rose Mary, founder of the page. “Considering the reach that we have built as a group, we thought it was time to take our influence on internet platforms and bring it to the streets. ‘Too Much Equal’ was never meant to be just another platform that makes people laugh. Many a time, humour is the only way to get people thinking, and that’s what we wanted to do,” she added.
On the day of the event, however, only eight people turned up at the venue. Rose Mary attributes this low turnout to a number of reasons. “People often do not follow through on their online enthusiasm. Also, our invitations were given out on short notice. We even had a last-minute change of venue due to a few legal issues. The fact that at least these many young people turned up in the middle of a working day definitely causes for celebration. This is just the beginning,” she said. Linsha Watson, a mechanical engineering graduate, has been a follower of the page since its inception. She was also one of the first protesters to show up.