Women reclaim right to ‘loiter’

It began with two Indian women hanging out on Mumbai streets in defiance after a series of violent crimes against women. It has since grown and even spread to Pakistan, as women assert their right to public spaces in male-dominated societies.

The Why Loiter street campaign was inspired by a book of the same name, that examined the risks for women on Mumbai’s streets. It came as an intense spotlight fell on women’s safety in India following the 2012 fatal gang rape of a student on a bus in Delhi and the 2014 rape of a woman by her Uber taxi driver in Delhi.

While the 2012 gang rape triggered massive protests and led to the tightening of rape laws in India, some of the reaction to it and the Uber rape blamed the victims, said Sameera Khan, co-author of Why Loiter

“It’s the same blame game every time: why was she out that time of night Why was she alone Or who was she with It’s all so hostile, and made out to be the victim’s fault,” said Khan in Mumbai.

“But why is it okay for women to only be out at certain times or for certain reasons Why should anyone question a woman’s right to be in a public space at any time ”

The number of rapes in India rose by 9 per cent to 33,707 in 2014, according to official data. The country’s conservative and patriarchal attitudes mean victims of sexual assault are often shunned by their families and communities and blamed for the violence perpetrated against them, say activists and lawyers.

Despite much development, it is still unusual to see women out by themselves at night. In a Reuters poll of 15 of the world’s major cities, Delhi ranked as having the fourth most dangerous transport systems for women.