Any spot to protest in the Smart City?

Using public spaces to protest is a right guaranteed in a democracy. The women's movement has over the years used public spaces in creative ways to spread our message about violence, women's rights and women's lives. I have been a part of protests in Delhi since the early nineties when we would gather at Ram Lila Maidan, Delhi Gate, ITO, India Gate or other places carrying our messages and shouting our slogans as a way to interact with people on the streets.

Over the years though, I see that the space for protest has continually been shrinking. Where earlier the entire city was open for us to raise our voice and issues, today we are all protesting in one small pocket of the city. It was only for a brief period following the 16 December, 2012 rape case that people spilled out into the streets to protest to vent their anger at a city and system which could not keep them safe. The images of young women and men at India Gate were shown all over the world, including the images of violence by the police while attempting to halt the protest. But that was shortlived, and we are now back to protesting at Jantar Mantar which while in the centre of the city is nevertheless a small and limited space.

It was a cool November evening in 2003 (during the 16 Days of Protest against Violence Against Women) when we had held a candle light Women in Black protest. Over 150 of us had dressed in black but our banners were colourful with messages of peace and non-violence. 

Marching to demand a right to a life free of violence for all women in India and all over the world, we descended upon India Gate. At this memorial to the fallen “heroes” of war, we carried our own list of “heroines” who had died due to violence, especially intimate partner violence. Our placards had names of women who had died at the hands of men, especially intimate partners. We had gotten this idea from marches that had been done in other parts of the world to commemorate women and name the dead.

While there was still some light, we formed a circle around the canopy near India Gate and held up banners with messages such as "Violence Free Worlds are Possible" and " Why are some men silent when others are violent". This attracted a lot attention from passersby who stopped to read the messages and ask questions about our protest. This was an opportunity for us to mingle and converse with the public. Some tourists from South India stopped by and asked some of us why we were protesting; they joined us to hold the banners and take photographs, as part of their memories of their visit to Delhi.

As dusk fell, we moved towards India Gate, chanting slogans and spreading messages on violence- free lives for women. Finally, as the evening wound up, we lit candles to commemorate the lives of women who had died due to violence. Candles as always provide a sense of peace and a very vivid visual image to the protest.

Claiming space at India Gate was a very powerful and empowering process for all of us. It is among the few spaces in Delhi where women and families are comfortable to loiter in and engage in leisure activities, besides being a fixture for tourists. Holding a protest there is not only significant but also allows the message to reach far and gives an opportunity for people to join in too.

November 2013. Getting ready to start the march, members of different women's groups at the venue:_Jagori, Nirantar, Action India, Burmese Womens's organisations and others.

November 2013. We took over the circle at India Gate with our colourful messages of non violence and peace.

November 2013. Against the backdrop of a lit up India Gate, we protested against violence in the name of all the women who had died due to violence at the hands of men.

November 2013. Holding the banner, from left to right Manjima, Malini, Shalini, Seema, Juhi, Kalpana , Sachin.Raising a collective voice to demand a violence-free world and the right for all women.  

Apart from events like this, we used to hold a monthly Women in Black protest at AIIMS for over a year between 1998 and 19999: the idea was to keep the issue of violence against women visible in the public eye. On the last Friday of every month, we would gather at the crossing at AIIMS bearing placards and posters. Even if the group was not too large, we would stand at the four corners of AIIMS (before it became the hub of a clover-leaf flyover) with banners and interact with people on the streets. We shared our messages with pedestrians and with people in cars that came to a halt at the red light.  We did not shout slogans; we wanted our presence on the road and the placards to do the talking. In fact the police were rather supportive of our protests at different times. 

AIIMS Protest 1998-99 Sharda behn holding a placard.

AIIMS Protest 1998-99. Women from Jagori, Action India and others at AIIMS for the monthly protest.

AIIMS Protest 1998-99. Women gathered at one corner of the AIIMS building, near the traffic police booth.

Over the years, we have seen the space for protest shrinking in Delhi. Today it is not even possible to imagine a protest at India Gate: we would not get the requisite permissions. The AIIMS building is now not a major traffic concern, and with no red lights. Besides, the architecture of the city itself is changing—roads are being designed primarily for fast moving traffic. While earlier we used protest at India gate, AIIMS and other public places, today all our protests seem to converge at Jantar Mantar.