Of the women, by the women and for the women, that’s the spirit of the Bekhauf Azaadi March, spearheaded by poet, activist, writer, theatre person Amy Singh. The march, which is to be held on Friday night, aims to draw the attention of citizens to the safety of women not just in Chandigarh but the entire nation. This march, says Singh, is not only a step in support of Varnika Kundu, but a call for creating a city which ensures that its women are safe, no matter where and what time. “Women have to lead this march, which will cover the so-called gheri route, sectors, 8, 9 and 10 and end at the model of the Eiffel Tower.” The gheri route, which goes past several girls’ colleges, is famous for making stalking and “eve-teasing” seem acceptable conduct. “Women can’t walk here. This is the place where this culture of loud music, men making rounds, stopping and staring at women is being normalised and that is why we need to reclaim,” said Singh. Another organiser said: “The fact is that stopping and staring at this stretch has been made acceptable. Even if there are policemen there, they wouldn’t respond to this act of men because for them too, it is acceptable on this stretch.” She asked women to join the march in large numbers. It will begin at 9.45 pm and continue till midnight. The meeting point is in the parking lot of the Rose Garden, and the gathering will then walk through the sectors, reciting verses and songs and speaking about how to make Chandigarh a safe space. Also part of the march will be various speakers like poet and translator Nirupama Dutt, storyteller Deeptha Vivekanand and psychiatrist Simmi Waraich. “We women need to show the way and stand, walk, sing and speak together,” Singh said. Singh, who writes in Urdu, Hindi and English, and her friends recently organised a citizens’ protest in Sector 17, against mob lynching. “A few of us women got together one day and decided we need to reach out to people and create a common ground for dialogues, discussions and hopefully change, with poetry,” she said, stressing that she supports no political party, and works only for causes. The group of women organisers has prepared a list of demands: no curfew timings for college and working women hostels, making more police women available at night, gender sensitisation of police officials, proper street light and night vision camera installation, and grievances redressal committee for women working in the unorganised sector. “What happened with Varnika Kundu has left the City Beautiful in jitters. This isn’t the first time a woman has been harassed on the streets and it won’t be the last if we don’t reclaim the streets. It is about time we smash down the patriarchal norms which restrict the women behind closed doors and set the culprits out loose to wreck havoc,” the event details read. Around 1,300 residents had shown “interest” in the protest march by Thursday evening and 325 said they would be attending it. The link has been shared by 310 people till now. “Sadke bhi hamari, galiyan bhi hamari raat bhi hamari, aur raat ke chand sitare bhi hamare. Come out for the Bekhauf Azaadi March and reclaim the night, reclaim the street,” the promotional message of the event reads on Facebook. (with inputs from Hina Rohtaki)
