A 27 year old financial consultant in Delhi was raped on 5th December, 2014, by her cab driver. The cab service was the internationally recognized Uber cab service that claim they keep a track of their vehicles movement when on hire. They also claim to have completely clean drivers that have been police verified. Of course, these services are significantly more expensive than the regular black and yellow cabs that you see on the roads.
It was a Friday night, the girl was out with her friends and sat in the 'safe' cab at 10:00 pm and slept. And was raped by the driver.
When the incident hit the headlines, people weren't trying to empathize with the girl or debate on the credibility of the cab service or curse the rapist, they were busy blaming the girl for having been 'foolish' enough to sleep in a public transport.
Fall asleep-get raped' was the warning being sent out to all the girls across the country by their parents, partners and peers. 'Safety rules' had several new additions, including, note down the cab number and whatsapp it to atleast three people, keep talking to a friend (male) on the phone and do not step out unescorted.
Not many cared to look into the case history of the cab driver rapist Shiv Kumar Yadav, who had been in and out of jail for crimes like molestation, rape, carrying arms, breaking into someone's home, starting 2003.
Do NOT fall asleep in public transport, unless you want to get raped, was the message, loud and clear so , Blank Noise and Why loiter decided to challenge exactly that.
We said, 'my body is my property whether I am awake or asleep, whether I am in a public space or private space, whether I am under the influence of alcohol or drugs and no one has the right to violate it. Period!'
Blank Noise is a Bangalore based community art project , initiated by Jasmeen Patheja, and seeks to confront eve teasing and street sexual harassment. Why loiter joined hands with Blank Noise and decided to sleep in public spaces from 11:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m in two different public spaces in Bombay on Sunday, 11th Jan, 2015. This is what happened that day.
The park that we had chosen to sleep in is the BMC park opposite the Costa Coffee in Versova. When we got their, armed with pillows, quilts and bedsheets, the park was locked and the guard refused entry since the park timings are 6 a.m to 10 am and 4 pm to 9 pm . (I smell an anti-loitering rat here). So we went to another park close by, the public park in the Fisheries lane, near Seasons wine shop. This one was open! Yay!!
We spread our bed sheets and plonked on the grass. Chatting, lazing around, dozing off. Some passersby looked on, not amused by this unusual and 'rebellious' behaviour,
Four young girls were having a little picnic closeby, with their mat, a ball, some rooh afza and snacks. The gardener was kind enough to let us stay on till 1.30 even though the park shuts at 1 pm. But after that the park authorities forced the guard to shoo us away. When we pleaded with him to let us stay longer....
this is what he did, he put on the sprinklers!!!
Meanwhile, in Chembur, some of our co loiterers were sleeping on the grass in a public park when the gardener came and said 'sleeping on the grass is not allowed'. When the girls shifted to the park benches to lie down, the cops came and shooed them away. That was the end of their grand plan.
How many such grand plans of loitering will be shot down by our families, peers, partners, society, media, cops, government? When will it be okay for a woman to lie down under the night sky in a public space and feel that she isn't doing something wrong or unsafe? When will the onus of sexual safety shift from the victim to the perpetrator? How many more times will we accept our own 'lack of judgement' and blame ourselves for the violation of our bodies?
The list of safety rules shoved down our throats are not only subjective, but also keep adding layers each time an act of violence occurs. When it was the Delhi bus gang rape they said 'why did she take a private bus?', when it was the Shakti mills rape they said 'but why go to such a lonely spot in the first place?' and now it is, 'why sleep in a public transport?'. These lists and these safety rules need to be set on fire. Catch every safety rule you have been taught by its tail, turn it upside down and do the exact opposite.
The new (and improved) safety rules book for women
Wear a short skirt at a bus depot
Smoke a cigarette on the road
Smile at strangers
Sing in public spaces
Dance in public spaces
Read a book on the pavement
Let your bra strap show
Laugh loudly everywhere
Talk loudly everywhere
Don't plug your ears with your headphones when you are alone at the road
Take a leak in a public toilet
Buy a condom from the medical store closest to your house
Buy alcohol from the wine shop late at night
Loiter alone
Loiter in the day
Loiter in the night
Hold hands in public
Kiss in public
Sit at that chai tapri and savor that cutting chai
Order dinner at that shady bar and restaurant and eat it alone
Sit in the train with your legs wide apart
Go to sleep in a train
Go to sleep in a bus
Go to sleep in an autorikshaw
Go to sleep in a cab
and DO NOT note its license number.
If every woman started following this new rule book, how many women are people going to blame??
It was a Friday night, the girl was out with her friends and sat in the 'safe' cab at 10:00 pm and slept. And was raped by the driver.
When the incident hit the headlines, people weren't trying to empathize with the girl or debate on the credibility of the cab service or curse the rapist, they were busy blaming the girl for having been 'foolish' enough to sleep in a public transport.
Fall asleep-get raped' was the warning being sent out to all the girls across the country by their parents, partners and peers. 'Safety rules' had several new additions, including, note down the cab number and whatsapp it to atleast three people, keep talking to a friend (male) on the phone and do not step out unescorted.
Not many cared to look into the case history of the cab driver rapist Shiv Kumar Yadav, who had been in and out of jail for crimes like molestation, rape, carrying arms, breaking into someone's home, starting 2003.
Do NOT fall asleep in public transport, unless you want to get raped, was the message, loud and clear so , Blank Noise and Why loiter decided to challenge exactly that.
We said, 'my body is my property whether I am awake or asleep, whether I am in a public space or private space, whether I am under the influence of alcohol or drugs and no one has the right to violate it. Period!'
Blank Noise is a Bangalore based community art project , initiated by Jasmeen Patheja, and seeks to confront eve teasing and street sexual harassment. Why loiter joined hands with Blank Noise and decided to sleep in public spaces from 11:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m in two different public spaces in Bombay on Sunday, 11th Jan, 2015. This is what happened that day.
The park that we had chosen to sleep in is the BMC park opposite the Costa Coffee in Versova. When we got their, armed with pillows, quilts and bedsheets, the park was locked and the guard refused entry since the park timings are 6 a.m to 10 am and 4 pm to 9 pm . (I smell an anti-loitering rat here). So we went to another park close by, the public park in the Fisheries lane, near Seasons wine shop. This one was open! Yay!!
We spread our bed sheets and plonked on the grass. Chatting, lazing around, dozing off. Some passersby looked on, not amused by this unusual and 'rebellious' behaviour,
this is what he did, he put on the sprinklers!!!
When we hurriedly picked up our sheets and pillows and stepped out, he locked us OUT! and refused to let us in inspite of repeated requests. That was the end of our grand plan.
Meanwhile, in Chembur, some of our co loiterers were sleeping on the grass in a public park when the gardener came and said 'sleeping on the grass is not allowed'. When the girls shifted to the park benches to lie down, the cops came and shooed them away. That was the end of their grand plan.
How many such grand plans of loitering will be shot down by our families, peers, partners, society, media, cops, government? When will it be okay for a woman to lie down under the night sky in a public space and feel that she isn't doing something wrong or unsafe? When will the onus of sexual safety shift from the victim to the perpetrator? How many more times will we accept our own 'lack of judgement' and blame ourselves for the violation of our bodies?
The list of safety rules shoved down our throats are not only subjective, but also keep adding layers each time an act of violence occurs. When it was the Delhi bus gang rape they said 'why did she take a private bus?', when it was the Shakti mills rape they said 'but why go to such a lonely spot in the first place?' and now it is, 'why sleep in a public transport?'. These lists and these safety rules need to be set on fire. Catch every safety rule you have been taught by its tail, turn it upside down and do the exact opposite.
The new (and improved) safety rules book for women
Wear a short skirt at a bus depot
Smoke a cigarette on the road
Smile at strangers
Sing in public spaces
Dance in public spaces
Read a book on the pavement
Let your bra strap show
Laugh loudly everywhere
Talk loudly everywhere
Don't plug your ears with your headphones when you are alone at the road
Take a leak in a public toilet
Buy a condom from the medical store closest to your house
Buy alcohol from the wine shop late at night
Loiter alone
Loiter in the day
Loiter in the night
Hold hands in public
Kiss in public
Sit at that chai tapri and savor that cutting chai
Order dinner at that shady bar and restaurant and eat it alone
Sit in the train with your legs wide apart
Go to sleep in a train
Go to sleep in a bus
Go to sleep in an autorikshaw
Go to sleep in a cab
and DO NOT note its license number.
If every woman started following this new rule book, how many women are people going to blame??
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