Women reclaim the streets at midnight in memory of Jyoti Singh

Speaking about the experience, one of the walkers, 50-year-old Shivani Bhatt, said, “It was wonderful. When I was a teenager, I wanted to go cycling at night, but my parents never allowed it. Women need to reclaim the streets because the presence of other women makes the streets safer.”

MUMBAI: In remembrance of the 11th anniversary of the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh, also known as the Nirbhaya case, six women took to the streets of Mumbai at midnight, starting 11pm Saturday going on till after 1am on Sunday.

Six women took to the streets of Mumbai at midnight, starting 11pm Saturday going on till after 1am on Sunday. (HT Photo)

They were armed with their numbers and gall, standing with the many women who have occupied public spaces at odd hours and been punished for it, blamed instead of the perpetrators of the violence.

“What I enjoyed best about it,” said 32-year-old Natasha Maru, “is that we were reclaiming the streets in such a joyful way, not only walking but chatting, laughing, taking breaks, with so much sisterhood.”

The group started their walk from Andheri East, took a pitstop at a municipal park, and then continued walking to Andheri West.

“We purposely took the quieter lanes instead of the main roads, where we could hardly see any women,” said Neha Singh, who runs the organizing group Why Loiter? “The men present stared at us questioningly and apprehensively, weirded out by the fact that we were strolling leisurely. Many rickshaws stopped for us as though we couldn’t possibly be out walking by choice.”

In its tenth year now, the group regularly holds midnight walks, the iteration on December 16 being just one of them.

Similarly, in Delhi, closer to the incident, a group ‘We Walk at Midnight’ organised a midnight walk.

Even though they were shielded by their numbers, some men on a bike yelled at them.

“It was nothing too aggressive, and because they were on a bike, we couldn’t do much,” said Singh. “But I’ve noticed that women have been more vocal against street harassment, not letting it pass like they would five years ago. They cause a scene and ask for an apology.”

Speaking about the experience, one of the walkers, 50-year-old Shivani Bhatt, said, “It was wonderful. When I was a teenager, I wanted to go cycling at night, but my parents never allowed it. Women need to reclaim the streets because the presence of other women makes the streets safer. We should be able to walk out at 2am without thinking or being apologetic about it.”

A mother to a 20-year-old, she’s making the change by not stopping her daughter from venturing out at night. “I do worry a lot, I won’t lie,” Bhatt said. “I ask her to inform me of her location, who she is with, and to keep her phone charged. Because it’s still not the world we want it to be.”

These walks, said Neha, are a way of bringing change. “Even though there were only six of us, the change is not limited to us. The change also occurs in the men who witness us walking, not only to get to one place from the other, but walking, laughing, and moving leisurely. If they were staring at us questioningly and apprehensively this time, maybe next time they won’t react as standoffishly,” she said.