{"id":16963,"date":"2019-04-15T09:30:05","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T04:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak?p=16963"},"modified":"2019-04-15T10:56:28","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T05:26:28","slug":"beyond-the-hashtags-how-online-activism-led-to-women-reclaiming-the-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/beyond-the-hashtags-how-online-activism-led-to-women-reclaiming-the-street\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Hashtags: How Online Activism Led to Women Reclaiming the Street"},"content":{"rendered":"

A generation accused of only raging on social media is taking to the streets. Bengaluru might be the trigger, but the midnight runs and post-dark park visits are part of something bigger.<\/b><\/p>\n

We\u2019re at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) at 11pm. Till evening, this area is buzzing, thanks to the numerous corporate offices in BKC. But now, the streets are deserted, vehicles are few and far between. In one half of an open pay-and-park space, there are bright lights, a makeshift stage, and a small crowd. Most are dressed in workout outfits, with neon vests and marathon bibs. While those present are mostly women, there are a few men as well. They\u2019re here for a midnight run (7km) to draw attention to the issue of women\u2019s safety.<\/p>\n

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Participants at the midnight run ( Photo: Kunal Patil\/HT )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here to express solidarity with the women of Bengaluru,\u201d says Sangeeta Rege, 35, a professional at city-based health research centre, CEHAT.<\/p>\n

After the accusation of mass molestation in Bengaluru on New Year\u2019s Eve, there has been a wave of public outrage. Sexist reactions by public leaders that followed did nothing to help. Across the country, the movement by women to reclaim the street took on greater urgency.<\/p>\n

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A protestor holds up a sign in Bengaluru ( Photo courtesy: Night in my Shining Armour )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Essentially, the \u2018reclaim the night\u2019 or \u2018take back the night\u2019 movement fights for a woman\u2019s right to be out and about post sunset. The first few night marches were held in America in the late 1970s \u2014 after the murder of a woman walking home alone in Philadelphia, USA, and have since been held across the globe. Similarly, \u2018reclaim the street\u2019 asserts a woman\u2019s right to occupy public spaces just as much as men, at any hour. At times, the proposed agenda is to read a book, or nap at a park. But, largely, it\u2019s just to gather without an aim, without an express purpose.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published in the Hindustan Times. Read the rest of the article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Essentially, the \u2018reclaim the night\u2019 or \u2018take back the night\u2019 movement fights for a woman\u2019s right to be out and about post sunset. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":16964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,1,1966],"tags":[229,1985,1690,305,25,1986],"class_list":{"0":"post-16963","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-blog-roll","8":"category-categories","9":"category-public-space-and-sexuality","10":"tag-activism","11":"tag-claiming-space","12":"tag-online-activism","13":"tag-public-spaces","14":"tag-sexualities","15":"tag-visibility"},"menu_order":579,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16963"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16992,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16963\/revisions\/16992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}