Women seldom receive the solidarity they extend

Central to the December 2012 and the the July 2026 protests, and all the others in between, have been the presence of women who have unfailingly shown up.

As the crowd surged forward, the police in riot gear on the other side of the barricades, fired water cannons. Metro stations had been shut, but the crowds kept coming, kept chanting: “We want justice.”

Central to both protests, and all the others in between, have been the presence of women who have unfailingly shown up. (AFP)

Memories of the December 2012 protest persist. Then, the anger was over the gang-rape and brutalisation of a young student, inside a moving bus in the NCR. This time, the rage was directed at an exam system repeatedly undermined by paper leaks. Then, the Congress-led UPA government relented, set up a commission and changed the law. Now, the BJP-led NDA government has conceded to demands, set up a commission and has passed an anti-paper-leak bill.

Central to both protests, and all the others in between, have been the presence of women who have unfailingly shown up.

Women at Jantar Mantar

Many young women had come without telling their parents who worried for their safety, not unreasonably, as police swung their batons without regard to gender and also, allegedly, groped and slapped women.

AB came in the evenings after work “like a thief sneaking in and out” because her boss would have sacked her had he known. “I was petrified constantly,” she said.

At Jantar Mantar, AISA leader Neha Bora withstood a 23-day hunger strike. Every day, women volunteers would arrive, bringing food, water, medicines, and other supplies.

Some of the movement’s own messaging left her uncomfortable. Posters that showed Italian Prime Minister (PM) Giorgia Meloni serving samosas alongside PM Narendra Modi serving tea. Posters of Modi in a sari — as if being a woman is somehow demeaning. Posters denigrating transgender people as weak and effete, despite the presence of so many who were present.

AB tells me she spoke up against the gendered stereotypes but was shushed by the men around her because, they told her, “This is not the time to raise such objections”.

But if not now, when?

Women who have participated in marches since the Independence movement, cannot wait indefinitely.

Language reinforces prejudice, and the language a protest chooses is fundamental to the values it upholds. I am not referring to the comments about the “gutter generation” made by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut who seems unoffended by her party’s record of “jersey cow” to describe a woman leader in the Opposition.

This is not about a diversionary “bad words” debate but more fundamentally about the language used by a movement that is idealistic and passionate for systemic change. Surely it must realise that being disabled, transgender or female cannot be equated with incompetence and weakness.

In 2012, long after the slogans had died down, women asked what had changed. Yes, women are more likely to speak up. Yes, we have a tougher law. Yes, it’s ok to be aspirational. But marital rape is still legal; marriage equality still a chimera. Violence against women is off-the-charts. Dowry and dowry deaths continue, as do “honour” killings. Where are women in Parliament, in the judiciary, in public spaces? Where are we at the protests? Are we just a head count?

In the end, who gains if nothing changes structurally for women? Our bodies must count for more than just bearing the brunt of State repression and troll attacks, or volunteering at protest sites.

The young women at Jantar Mantar have shown they are willing to stand on the frontlines. The challenge now is for the movement to match their fervour and their courage and recognise them as equal partners with an equal stake in the future.

Namita Bhandare writes on gender. The views expressed are personal.