The enemy within- Dhruv Lohumi

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African American woman who worked as a seamstress, boarded the Montgomery City (State of Alabama) bus to go home from work. She sat in the section of the bus reserved for white citizens under the ‘Jim Crow’ laws that legalised segregation of blacks and whites in public spaces. When the bus conductor asked her to give up her seat, she simply looked up at the conductor and said "I don't think I should have to stand up."
Her arrest, her challenge of that arrest in court and also of the segregation laws are now considered as one of the most important chapters of the American Civil Rights Movement. She has even been dubbed as “The First Lady of Civil Rights”.
It all started with her being in a public space she wasn’t allowed/supposed/permitted to be in.
Now in India, there are thankfully no ‘Laws’ segregating access to public spaces and yet women are treated as second class citizens (putting it mildly) whenever they are in them. So the all-important question arises. What is the solution?
Option 1
CASTARATE THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS! (ouch).  HANG THEM BY THEIR PENISES! (double ouch). SHOVE RUSTED HOT RODS SPRINKLED WITH CHILLI UP THEIR ASSHOLES…AND MAKE SURE THE CHILLIS WEREN’T ORGANIC SO THAT THEY CONTRACT PESTICIDE POISINING ALONG WITH TETANUS! (By the way if you put a dash after the first three letters on that last word, that last threat becomes very poetic).
As appealing as they may sound. They are just an expression of the anger we feel at our own helplessness. Anyone thinking that this is a legitimate option should stop reading this article and join a right wing organisation…oh and also invest in a sword and a hockey stick.
Option 2
“I WILL PROTEST…ON FACEBOOK…I JUST SIGNED THREE PETITIONS ASKING THE MP FROM MY DISTRICT (whose name I do not know) TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE SAFETY OF WOMEN! I WILL….Ooh! My ex just posted a picture of her and her new guy…bitch! #brokenheart.
Social media is great for getting information and mobilising support for actual activities and movements that people are starting and becoming involved in. But it in itself is not the protest/movement/whatever term you might be comfortable with. Besides internet penetration in India is about 20-30% of the population. That means that there are at least 700 million people who can’t hear you or like your new dp.
Option 3
Do something real. The problem in India is not a legal problem but a problem of perception. The recently banned documentary(btw, very lazy film making) clearly highlights the fact that no matter how stringent the law, so long as the custodians and enforcers of that law still draw from the current well of social discrimination, women will continue to be denied their basic rights and dignity.
Challenging these perceptions then becomes the only long term cure for the current plight of women in our country. For the past ten months or so a group called WhyLoiter? has been doing just that. Started by Neha Singh in Mumbai the group has a very simple agenda. To get women in the city to loiter in public spaces where “decent” and “respectable” women should ideally not be seen.
Any liberty or social right that is guaranteed to us is never appreciated. Hence no man ever thinks twice before heading out of the house or just hanging out at the local paan shop. We never think about how grateful we are to be able move about with such freedom or that brave men die or freeze to death on some far off glacier to protect our right to scratch our crotch and pee in public. Bottom line, no grey cells are harmed in the aimless public movement of the Indian male.
Disclaimer: The author is Neha Singh’s boyfriend and the following bit gets a little tricky so if his revelation leads to the reader having doubts about the credibility of this piece please feel free to shut this window….and also denounce it on social media. *Thumbs up* emoji.
“WOOOOOWW! What a great idea!”, “I’m definitely coming next time!”, “Cool ya! Add me to the watsapp group”. Just a sample of the reactions that are given when the idea is first shared with someone. A simple and powerful way of challenging the “guidelines” society has laid down for women to guarantee their safety, requiring nothing more than two-three hours on a Sunday and a sense of adventure. You would imagine enthusiasm would be high and participation would be strong.
And yet, watching Neha trying to get the same people who showed such enthusiasm and excitement to actually turn up reminded me about the times my mother tried to get me to eat that vegetable she knew I absolutely hated! After two or three messages are sent out on the WhyLoiter? Watsapp group during the week imploring women to turn up and do nothing more than hangout and socialise for a cause a turnout of more than three is considered a success. This on a group that has over 50 women registered.
Now Mumbai is a tough city to make a living in and when someone says that they can’t make it because of work or don’t even bother replying you can tell yourself that they must be doing something important….Except, it’s not true.
I am a huge football fan. I’m part of a group of guys who are all football enthusiasts (no women players….only because we don’t know any….but please feel free to join us someday). We play at least twice a week and have to pay about 200-300bucks per head to rent one of the artificial pitches in the city. In fact as I write this I’m also co-ordinating on our Watsapp group for tonight’s game because we can only have 16 guys on the pitch and right now 20 guys want to turn up so I’m going to have to disappoint someone. After the match we all get together and bitch about the lack of proper playing surfaces in the city. That is the extent of our troubles! When compared to what you face I believe the appropriate hashtag is #firstworldproblems.
I find it funny that we consistently get 16 guys, all of whom are working professionals in Mumbai, to pay money to kick around a ball for an hour on a Monday!(Mumbai traffic anyone?) for no other reason than it makes us feel good and yet Neha struggles to get 4 women to come to a Whyloiter? session. Thankfully a few individuals have become regulars and turn up for almost every session otherwise Neha would have to resort to taking me out dressed in drag(an idea she is actually working on…watch this space for more on that).
More than the apathy however it’s the cynicism, especially from other women which is even more baffling. Everything from “being waste of time” to “just upper class women hanging out” to “my guy friends made fun of this movement so now I too have doubts about it’s effectiveness” and many more. All from other women and close male friends who offer nothing but vague “revolution” theories or the same old “India ka kuch nahin ho sakta”. Funnily enough I’ve seen a lot of these people feature in a lot of those viral online videos about women.
 We can never really know how far the ripples of our action will go.(ugh…so sappy). Even for someone like me on the side lines this movement has helped me discover parks in Mumbai I never knew existed, a dosa wala who makes the best ‘sada dosa’, a road side chai stall in Goregaon where women can hang out and get a smoke and a cup of tea and just gaze at life passing by because everyone around has been sensitized to the presence of women due to the efforts of Neha and other women in the area and most importantly the fact that people from all sections of society and walks of life who have seen these women loiter on the streets, understand and agree with what they are doing.
I guess the point of writing all this is to say one very simple thing. We(men) can’t give you(women) what you want (freedom) because we don’t understand what that means to you. Just like African Americans fighting for their civil rights or Indians fighting for independence, you guys have to fight for what you want. We can stand with you, but we can’t show you the way. We tried…..buuut…you know that doesn’t work for you. To demand our support is your right. To ask for our approval is your defeat.
Change requires dialogue between those who believe in the status quo and those who believe things need to be different. Whyloiter? is about being a part of that conversation. Join them or start your own conversation.
Right! Now on to the bigger question. Who misses out on today’s game?

Dil pukaare 'Aarey, Aarey , Aarey'- Neha Singh

This Sunday Why loiter? supported another battle that people have been fighting for a long, long time, the battle to save trees and forests from the mindless urbanisation/deforestation/land acquisition that has become a grave threat to all forest cover in the country.
This time the battle is to save the Aarey Forest and grassland area from several 'development' projects that the government has proposed.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Aarey, it is a 4,000 acre forest land that was given to the tabela (dairy farm) owners in 1949, when this part of the city was way beyond the outskirts of the original 'island city' that finished at Dadar. This was done because at that time having tabelas in the city was considered an eye sore. That is when this area became the Aarey Milk Colony and soon developed into a green forest and grassland. Now, however, this milk colony has become the heart of the city, with Bandra and Dahisar on the west and Sion and Mulund on the east, and can easily be called the lungs of 64% of Mumbai's population.
Aarey Milk Colony is home to more than 20,000 trees, 76 species of birds, 86 species of butterflies, 13 species of amphibians, 38 different types of reptiles, 19 species of spiders and 34 different types of wild flowers. Leopards, barking deer, sambar deer, spotted deer, rusty spotted cat, jungle cat, civets, monkeys still reside in large numbers in this area.
Aarey colony , if protected and valued can be Mumbai's Central park or Hyde park, because it boasts of flora, fauna and landscape similar to these parks in New York and London. The only problem is, the political will and the awareness of the citizens. Neither value the importance of this green cover that essentially has become the lungs of this over populated and polluted city.

The Aarey colony is in grave danger because of atleast five 'development' projects proposed by the government that basically amount to cutting down almost ALL the trees in the area. These projects are
1. Construction of Goregaon Mulund link road which proposes to widen the road from its current 20 feet to 90 feet, which means cutting down at least 1,000 trees.
2, Car shed for line three metro yard- which means cutting down atleast 5000 trees.
3. Setting up of Force 1 training camp
4. Extension of Byculla zoo
5. Private encroachments.

On a Sunday morning, after having publicized the protest on all possible platforms, only 5,00 people turned up for the protest, the no-show largely because an India Pakistan match was on! Without losing hope, however, we armed ourselves with slogans and banners and moved to the area that is covered with fences and a green cloth marking it as 'Car shed for Line III metro yard' and encloses  many acres of land that was forest land just a few weeks ago but now looks like barren land with several road rollers, cranes, trucks etc.

There is a proposal to dig out many million tonnes of soil and dump it in the 'deep sea'. The truth is that 'deep sea dumping' leads to an imbalance in the water levels and that is why in the last few years the sea water has been coming onto the roads in Bandra, Dadar, Marine Drive, Gateway etc.

We got on the road rollers and trucks and made it clear to the MMRDA and we are unhappy about these mindless projects. There were children, women, the elderly, artists, photographers, journalists and every one was there for just one cause, save the trees.

The saveaarey campaign is a citizen led protest that started a few months ago and is working very passionately towards saving these 20,000 trees and the biodiversity that it is home to.

This is their website
http://saveaarey.org/

This is their facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/saveaarey/?fref=ts

Next time when you are crossing the Aarey Colony please look out for the enclosed area with 'Car shed for Metro III yard' stop, get in, climb up on the cranes and road rollers, stop the men from working, click photos and upload them on your facebook and twitter pages.

This is important for all of us. Much more important than an India Pakistan cricket match on T.V. Next time, please do attend the protest and let the Government know that you care about Aarey.

"Fall asleep-get raped" says who? : loitering to protest victim blaming.- Neha Singh

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!!!

 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??

Encounters with predators and protectors....-Neha Singh

This was our second post midnight loitering session and unlike the first one, where we were four of us, this time there was only two of us, the ones who began the movement, Devina and I. The map we had planned to walk was from Kaifi Azmi park in Juhu to Lotus petrol pump in Oshiwara.
After a nice dinner of roadside hakka noodles and schezwan sauce at the chinese tapri opposite Kaifi Azmi park, the two of us began our loitering. It was twelve!

We began walking on the link road which was quite busy and lit up, at least till Juhu circle. We stopped at a coffee anna (a unique concept in Bombay where men on cycles park themselves at roadsides and sell coffee, idlis and cigarettes late at night, till the wee hours of the morning). We explained 'Why loiter?' to him and clicked a photo with him too. He told us that in seven years of his job this was the first time someone had asked him to pose for a photo. A young 'night jogger' also came for coffee and overheard our conversation. After a little conversation with him, we were on our way.

As the clock struck one a.m, and the streets began to get empty, our bodies became more alert. Several rickshaws stopped, hoping we would get on, but we told them we were just walking. A few strange and curious stares from men that themselves were loitering on the empty roads and we became more stiff and more aware of the dangers lurking around us. I missed the strength of numbers. Just one more woman with us would have made all the difference. But, we still walked on and even enjoyed a light hearted conversation about college times, ragging and teenage crushes.
'Tch psshhht', we heard someone call out. We didn't look up.
'Shhtchh psssttt' he signalled again. This time we looked up and saw a middle aged, middle class-ish man standing on the pavement and masturbating. He was staring at us, his hand on his penis, and smiling a broad smile. The shock was too great to react instantly, but a few moments later I pulled out my phone, aimed it at him and said , 'Bhaisaab, can I click a photo of you?" He looked stunned and confused for a moment, and I repeated, "Just one photo, please!" and this time he understood the consequences of getting a photo clicked in that situation. He ran like someone had lit his tail. We ran behind him for sometime, but he could easily give P.T. Usha a run for her money.
We burst out in giggles, and in the middle of all this chaos, a bunch of young boys came to our 'rescue' a little belated.
"What happened? What happened?" they asked most earnestly.
"Nothing spectacular. A man was masturbating and harassing us." we replied.
They seemed so embarrassed and shocked at our words that they just looked at each other with very affected concerned looks.
"But why were you two walking here? I saw you two, just walking around." one of them said.
"We were just chatting. Just like you are. Why, is that a problem?" we asked.
They again exchanged deeply concerned looks.
"Okay, just BE SAFE" they called out as we resumed our loitering.
"YOU TOO." we called back.
For a long time after that our 'protectors' followed us, making sure we didn't "land" ourselves in anymore trouble. We also saw our earlier pervert predator come back for his car and zoom off quickly.
Predators and protectors. Why do men always seem to fall in these two extreme roles when it comes to women? Extreme roles that become interchangeable if women cannot justify their own movement in public spaces.
Every space seems gendered and women and men acquire predetermined roles in public spaces. Women constantly aim to appear dignified, respectable and safe, and men lurk around as either predators or protectors. The interaction between the genders is always coloured in these roles, unable to think of each other as merely human beings with equal rights to public space.

Why loiter? group in Jaipur kicks off in style!- Neha Singh

I was in Jaipur last week and met Mita Kapur,an extremely talented and respected literary consultant. This was my first meeting with her, organised by a common friend, to discuss a project that we are working on. When I reached her palatial house (understatement) I was intimidated. I had already visited her website 'Siyahi', the literary consultancy that she spearheads. But when I met her, all my apprehensions flew away. Her warm and cozy office was filled with young women, all busy working on various important projects. We began chatting over coffee and that's when my friend, Dhruv Lohumi, suggested I tell this young and bright bunch of women about 'Why loiter? Mumbai'. It often takes me about twenty minutes to explain the concept and the movement to people but Mita and her colleagues understood the value of it within a couple of minutes and told me that it was a wonderful idea. A few minutes later, Mita announced that she would love to start a similar movement in Jaipur. The other women in the room agreed unanimously and before my very eyes, they began brainstorming and were ready with the plan for their first loitering session that Saturday.

I met Mita only for a half hour, but I still knew that she would bring the idea alive, with complete conviction.

Today I received a mail from her with this little story explaining how their experience was, complete with little anecdotes and heartwarming moments. When I saw the photos, my heart danced with joy. So many women, all vibrantly dressed, looking beautiful and armed with guitars, goodies and what have you! This is their story, as told by Mita.

So 20th January evening at statue circle - its cold and windy, a start up NGO to teach kids from economically challenged stratas is holding a candle light vigil to share the tragedy in Peshawar and we reach to just hang….
just walking around the circle, Nandita pointed at Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh's statue to tell us that the scroll it was holding was cut off because it looked like his phallus jutting out...*giggles*

We grow from two to eight to thirteen and finally to about twenty five women - all ages, a school girl from Welhams, bridge players from Chennai, post graduate students from Raj university strumming on her guitar and singing old songs (my generation pop), some more walk in…Ritu and Neeru try to teach us all how to whistle like men do when we walk past…we talk, giggle and in all the bonhomie, anuja comes with freshly baked date bars, ritu (number 2) with roasted peanuts - just what we need to keep it going - we walk around, talk to people just generally who are also there to walk. in true spirit, Megha and Kanika decided to scale the statue which prompted a few shrill whistles from the guard asking them to get down...

some more walk in who are visiting from Bombay…

We are there for a about an hour and a half….Radhika Jagwani says "in truly believing in what we are doing here, I am going walk back home and not call my car." off she goes. Fifteen minutes later she messages, "a guy on a bike started chasing me, I had to call my husband to pick me up" - her home was barely half a km away. Devyani, who couldn't come but is heavily into cross country running and cycling also messaged on the group saying "I was chased this morning while I was cycling"

Jaipur as a city is just another small town where men think its their birth right to tease women

our next loiter should mostly be on Christmas.

We maybe in different cities, but we are all of the same sisterhood, a similar desire. The desire that one day all roads, parks, bus depots, railway stations, movie theatres, road side tapris, highways, hotels and homes will be safe and free and inviting for women to roam and loiter peacefully.  Now hoping more such groups start in other cities as well.