Men and women participated in the march and many performed street plays, recited poetry and delivered speeches.
Exactly a week after 29-year-old Varnika Kundu's car was chased by two drunken men in Chandigarh, women from across the city gathered to reclaim the streets.
The 'Bekhauf Azaadi' march started at 10 pm on the Geri route in Sector 10, passing through Sector 11. The demand was for freedom from patriarchial norms which restrict women under the pretext of safety. "Sadke bhi hamari, galiyan bhi hamari, raatein bhi hamari, aur raat ke chand sitare bhi hamare. (The streets are ours, so are the alleys. The night is ours and so are the moon and the stars)," they chanted.
"The Geri route is considered unsafe for women, so we decided to start from here at 10 pm – the time when girls are not supposed to go out," says 29-year-old Amarjot, one of the organizers. The route, where high incidences of sexual harassment and stalking are reported, passes through various colleges.
"Geri culture thrives on harassment of women," says Amy Singh, who led the online campaign. "Boys roam in cars, drinking alcohol, playing songs that reek of misogyny and comment on girls passing by. This seems to have become the norm here, which is what we want to fight against."
"The resentment has been brewing for a while, but the recent incident of stalking and the rape of a ten-year-old girl left us in jitters. We cannot be locked inside our homes just because the police cannot do its duty to make streets safe for us," said another organizer, social worker Sharmita Binder.
Men and women participated in the march and many performed street plays, recited poetry and delivered speeches.
"Until we raise our voice, we will not know whether we are being heard," said Amarjot. "All we want is that next time a woman is seen out late at night, she is not subjected to ruthless questioning, name-calling or stereotypes."
Chandigarh police, who were pulled up for shoddy investigation in the recent stalking case allegedly involving Vikas Barala and Ashish Kumar, extended their support to the march, organizers said.
In one voice
The march started on the Geri route in Sector 10, through Sector 11.
The demand was for freedom from patriarchial norms.
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