Social Work Volunteer Opportunities

On the evening of August 6, 2006, women in shiny ‘enticing’ clothes were staring at men in Brigade and MG Road, and four specific sites culminating in a "men's area" outside the booze shop on Residency Road in Bangalore. Instead of walking with their heads down in the “men’s area,” where ogling was common, the women confronted the male gaze aggressively. The result of the modus operandi was not a surprising one. There’s power in the women’s gaze. Men are scared of it!

Here’s an account of the Bangalore Intervention:

“In the beginning, six girls (and two men documenting) standing around staring back on M G Road didn't get too much attention; some men looked embarrassed to being subjected to a frank female gaze and bent their heads or looked away immediately. But when men were already staring and we returned the stare, it didn't take long for some to slow down and hover around.

One group of men kept walking by, winking and making suggestive gestures, till they decided to park themselves near us. We moved so that we were on all four sides of them, staring at them, till they started looking a little uncomfortable and then the two boys handed them Blank Noise pamphlets. The encircling men and looking back thing worked really well, and perhaps we should have pushed it harder right from the start . . .

Our final stop was outside the booze shop where we could practise the encircling-the offensive-starer again. This time we were more in tune with each other's discomforts and the man and his friends soon disappeared inside the (safe male domain?!) liquor shop but Laura and Ratna followed him in and the rest of us went in a few moments later. They handed him some (Blank Noise) pamphlets."

The Banglore Intervention showed eve teasing can be tackled if the women were determined to deal with it.  It’s high time for our women, Jaago Re!

Check out:
Blank Noise
Pink Chaddi Campaign  
Spurthi (New Delhi)
Childline Agartala(Tripura)
New Life (Tamilnadu) 
Vishwas Trust (Karnataka)