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'Maal Chaal', 'Chappal Maarungi'- Girls raise campaign for protection

Enraged at being molested and teased by lecherous men in public places, several groups of young women are raising their voice against sexual harassment.

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Enraged at being molested and teased by lecherous men in public places, several groups of young women are raising their voice against sexual harassment in three different campaigns across the city.

While some social activists are planning a march against the objectification of women and their bodies, students from two Mumbai colleges have initiated drives against molestation — on campus and in the real and virtual worlds.

“The idea is to create awareness about the issue by empowering women and sensitising men,” said Mahek Sabat, one of the organisers of Maal Chaal, the Mumbai version of the international Slut Walk. The name for the protest march which uses a derogatory term for a woman (Maal) and Chaal (which means gait in Hindi) was coined by gay activist Harish Iyer who believes that women can get back at their tormentors by “embracing the slur and wearing it non-chalantly as a ridiculous tag”.

“Slut Walk is an inappropriate word to use in India. The women can wear what they like as the aim is to emphasise that no matter how a woman is dressed, a man has no right to molest her,” says Karan Jothwani, 21, another organiser.

To be held between Juhu and Bandra in October, the walk is expected to turn into a full-fledged movement with workshops on how to approach the police or take legal action against molesters.

"We would also be putting pressure on the administration to deal with the issue in a better way by sensitising the police and punishing the offenders," Sabat added.

Meanwhile, students of St Andrews College, Bandra, have initiated Freeze the Tease, an online campaign that seeks to create awareness about the ill-treatment of women at the hands of molesters who often get away with their crime because the victims are too shocked or scared to react. The group has started an SMS campaign, where subscribers are sent tips on how to deal with sex offenders.

"We also conducted a self-defence workshop, where participants were taught to deal with perverts," says Anishka Alvares, one of the six students who created the drive as part of the college curriculum.

'Chappal Maarungi', another campaign, exhorts women to literally beat harassment. "We are trying to encourage women to stand up for their right to dignity and safety, so no one will be able to take them for granted," emphasises Malavika Mohanan, one of the five organisers of the drive initiated by students of Wilson College, Chowpatty, as part of their media planning studies.

Using the chappal (means slipper in Marathi) as a symbol of female empowerment, the students have put a five-foot cutout of a slipper with anti-harassment messages on the college premises. In one corner lies a box full of shoes and sandals with the sign, "In case of eve teasing, use one of these."

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