Reclaiming The Streets and Not Asking For It

There is a common notion entrenched in the narrow minds of most Indians that women who get sexually harassed or assaulted were ‘asking for it’ because they were probably wearing provocative clothing. To see if this was anywhere near accurate an experiment was conducted, entries of the article worn or a picture of the article of clothing worn when an incident of sexual harassment took place were solicited from women across the country. The results are not what the narrow minds would expect, short skirts and halter tops do not rank at the top of the list, in fact the top three slots are taken by school uniforms, salwars and jeans.

This experiment was conducted by what started out as a student project at the Srishti School of Art Design and Technology in Bangalore in 2003. Led by Jasmeen Patheja, Blank Noise has now grown and matured into one the largest and most successful public initiatives that confront the issue of eve teasing in India.

Entirely run by volunteers or ‘Action Heroes’, Blank Noise seeks to intervene and speak up about acts of sexual harassment on the street and in public spaces by addressing and confronting the public. They have taken to the streets of cities to ‘reclaim’ them by not being ‘idle’. They have spray painted walls and converted a street that was perceived as unsafe into a safe zone by setting up tables and chairs over which the volunteers had a conversation with total strangers of the opposite sex. They have conducted a night walk across key cities, where women took to the street and turned the tables on eve teasers by confronting them and not pretending like it was an acceptable circumstance. They have done all this because they want change.

The Action Heroes of Blank Noise really are heroes. They do this for no compensation or recognition, but simply because they want to make a difference. Jasmeen is working off of the faith that there are enough people out there who are willing to take on the issue of eve teasing and she has rallied them. Such is the power of faith, perseverance and unwavering will. Such is the power of one woman and the influence she can have. Such is the power of when people come together for a single unanimous cause.

http://blog.blanknoise.org/
http://actionheroes.blanknoise.org/