Navigating public areas in Indian cities is an on a regular basis wrestle for ladies. Ask Indu Antony, a 41-year-old feminist multidisciplinary artist primarily based out of Bengaluru, dedicated to working with native communities and creating areas for creative expression and empowerment.
Chatting with The Higher India, Indu says, “Most ladies I do know have skilled some type of sexual harassment in public areas. Rising up, I keep in mind my mom giving me a security pin, saying that if any person touches me on the bus, I can simply push the pin again on them.”
“We had been at all times requested by our households to take precautions and equip ourselves with instruments that would assist us navigate a public house. This was simply a part of current,” provides the doctor-turned-artist.
However there was one specific incident about seven years again that left an indelible mark on her psyche. This incident would encourage her to create certainly one of her standout artwork initiatives — Cecelia’ed.
“I used to be strolling on the road in HBR Structure when a few boys walked as much as me and spat on my face. I had no concept why they did that. I needed to go house and wash my face and T-shirt, which had been coated of their spit. It was a scary expertise. Rising up, I’ve encountered so many incidents of males touching and groping me in public however that incident was so out of the best way. I simply didn’t perceive why somebody would spit on me for no obvious motive,” she recollects.
For a quick interval, Indu tried to rationalise what had occurred to her. However over time, she realised that she needed to cease reasoning with it and are available to phrases with the truth that this was not okay. She needed to do one thing about it.
“What I got here to understand is that I’ve the privilege, consciousness, training, entry to social media, and information of a number of South Indian languages to speak extra successfully about what occurred to me. That’s when the idea of a public artwork venture to deal with the gender inequities related to accessing public areas first took root,” she recollects.
Referred to as Cecelia’ed, the venture was centred round Cecelia, a flamboyant single girl in her 70s. “I met Cecelia, an area celeb, in her 70s [sometime around 2017-18] whereas she was biking with a cape on. She was biking throughout Malleshwaram and I noticed her cape flying within the wind. Taking a look at her, I used to be like ‘Who is that this individual and I have to know her’,” recollects Indu.
Reclaiming public areas
Established in 2018, “Cecelia’ed is a public artwork venture that appears at disrupting normative notions of gender in public areas by working with neighbourhood areas marked ‘unsafe’ for ladies in Bengaluru utilizing the politics of herd mentality and celeb tradition. Cecelia, the face of the venture, was introduced as a superhero referred to as ‘The Gender Disruptor’. The venture acquired the Public Artwork Grant to understand it by FICA (Basis for Indian Modern Artwork),” she says.
“We started this venture in a single neighbourhood as a result of we wished to begin from the bottom up and perceive points and conversations taking place there, after which transfer on to different elements of town. Our first intervention was in Ward No 24 close to the HBR Structure. We collected a whole lot of info by way of information, and labored carefully with the native police station and gathered knowledge from them in regards to the places the place a whole lot of assaults towards ladies occurred,” she provides.
To higher perceive places the place ladies had been getting attacked, Indu engaged within the research of feminist geography, which seeks to know how city planning is patriarchal in nature.
“For instance, if you happen to really exit into sure elements of town, you will note a barber store proper subsequent to a {hardware} store, a motorcycle mechanic store, and a paint store with an area bar within the neighborhood. Given the gendered nature of those areas, we noticed that ladies would look to keep away from them whereas making an attempt to get to a bus cease. However [at the same time] these had been the areas the place we learn reviews of assaults taking place towards ladies within the space,” she explains.
The following step was to know how herd mentality might be employed to boost consciousness about not simply her venture but in addition methods to make these areas safer for ladies.
“One of many issues that occurs in each ward is conferences organised by native items of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). These are open conferences that occur with an area corporator current. We wished native ladies to actively take part as residents,” she explains.
Working alongside native printers and artists, Indu designed pamphlets that may go into the morning newspapers of native residents. The pamphlet contained details about the Cecelia’ed venture and the attention they had been making an attempt to create. Additionally they began an area information channel, which performed in numerous places just like the native barber store, discussing the occasions happening within the space with anecdotes from the ladies collaborating on this venture.
The venture’s engagement was primarily with ladies from the Anganwadi areas. “I used to be capable of speak to extra grassroots [working class] ladies and perceive what was happening with them and what had been the problems they had been going through. The youthful ladies had been afraid of getting sexually attacked, after which the older ladies had been extra afraid of getting robbed of their belongings. Both means, it was an enormous burden to hold [for them],” she provides.
To additional have interaction with these ladies, the venture started organising workshops on the native Anganwadis each second Saturday of the month.
“Posters for these workshops had been created by the ladies coming to those Anganwadis. We had been making an attempt to know what the problems had been. For instance, they’d discuss a selected road with completely no LED lights and whether or not we may get some road lights put there so it makes them a little bit extra snug to stroll on these streets,” she says.
“We’d then write out a petition, go to the BBMP conferences, give it to the corporator, after which get these road lights really put up in these unsafe areas,” she provides.
Apart from engagements like these, Indu and her band of volunteers additionally began initiatives like ‘Open Bar Nights’ as a part of the venture. For a lady in Bengaluru to have a drink, she must go to a membership or pub and purchase costly alcohol. However these ‘shady’ bars with grill bars on the surface serving low cost liquor weren’t accessible as a result of ladies by no means felt secure there.
“We would choose a bar and take ladies there to have a drink. We had been at all times confronted with a whole lot of resistance by the lads current there, however that gave us sufficient avenues to have conversations with them about why they had been resisting our presence in these areas,” she recollects.
Inducing celeb tradition to reclaim public areas
An essential ingredient of reclaiming these public areas for ladies was by way of inducing celeb tradition, they usually had the right candidate to steer the cost.
In a 2022 TEDx Discuss, Indu recalled, “In Cecelia’s case, she was already a celeb. She had this eclectic sense of trend. She would decide up garments from the road wherever she may and he or she would put it collectively and put up these images [online]. She is a single lady, lives alone, and has land sharks making an attempt to hurt her for the land the place her house stood.”
As said earlier, Indu and her band of volunteers had acquired info from the native police station in regards to the areas the place a whole lot of ladies obtained attacked. These areas turned websites of what they’d name ‘Road Reopenings’. The road was technically open however they’d ‘reopen’ them with a lot fanfare and conversations about safer public areas.
There have been invites despatched out for these reopenings. Cecelia would arrive there in a flowery automotive and stand on the rostrum alongside the native corporator, Anganwadi academics, and an area celeb, and they’d discuss security in public areas.
“We’d then minimize a ribbon re-inaugurating the road hoping that we gained’t have any additional points on the road. We did fairly just a few of those interventions in numerous elements of the ward. These weren’t closed features. As an alternative, they had been taking place proper on the road. So, a whole lot of curious passersby would stroll in asking what is occurring right here. We’d then have individuals explaining to them what is occurring right here,” she recalled within the TEDx Discuss.
“Numerous areas the place ladies felt unsafe had road lights that had been damaged. The lads would get drunk, throw a stone, and break the road gentle. Through the road reopening features, we’d get any person from BESCOM to climb up and alter the bulbs amidst claps and cheers. All of the areas the place we did our reopenings had been marked on Google Maps,” she provides.
One other factor they did was develop merchandise. Cecelia, a beedi smoker, had matchboxes made for her along with her determine on the quilt. Additionally they made stickers and tiny dolls along with her determine on them. “We additionally created a comic book strip referred to as ‘The Gender Disruptor’, and took this comedian to colleges the place we raised consciousness on equal entry to public areas for ladies,” she says.
Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the progress of the Cecelia’ed venture with life transferring indoors. When the pandemic occurred, a whole lot of the violence that was on the road got here indoors. Instances of home violence in India and all over the world spiked tremendously. In response, Indu felt that there must be secure areas the place ladies can relaxation and simply be. This gave start to the creation of a secure house referred to as ‘Namma Katte’ in February 2022.
Namma Katte: The place ladies can simply be
“Rising up, I don’t have any reminiscence of ladies resting in public areas. I might see males sit and have a smoke or simply get collectively and chill outdoors. However I by no means see ladies do this in public areas like underneath a tree or close to the radio station. It was at all times indoors for them. This type of public existence [in open spaces] was not there, and I wished to alter that. So, Namma Katte was an open public house we created in order that the subsequent era of kids rising up may see ladies resting in public areas as a typical incidence,” explains Indu.
“As a baby, I additionally observed that ladies had been at all times requested to do one thing at house — ‘wash this’, ‘prepare dinner this’, ‘make this’, ‘do your homework’, and so on. As a lady, you’re always compelled to be productive within the family, whereas I’ve seen my cousin brothers come house and do nothing. But when I had been to return again house and do nothing, members of the family would say, ‘No, you go end washing this or do that or that’. This bothered me and I began asking a whole lot of ladies round who additionally resonated with my emotions on the topic,” she provides.
Indu at all times wished to have areas for ladies the place they really feel secure and might sit and do nothing. On 28 February 2022, she inaugurated Namma Katte, which in Kannada roughly interprets to ‘Our Area’. Situated in one of many largest slums within the metropolis behind the Banaswadi Railway station, “it is a house for ladies to take a seat, scream, dance, scratch, and do nothing”, open between 10 am and 6 pm day by day. “It’s only a house for them to exist,” notes Indu.
“Numerous the ladies who come to Namma Katte work as home assist in Cooke City and different extra upscale localities. After their shift, they arrive right here to relaxation, sit there, and speak to different ladies about their day, their issues at house, and about no matter else they need. This house accommodates a shutter store the place you simply open and be in that house,” says Indu.
“To start with, we obtained the native ladies to sew their tales that they couldn’t inform their close to and pricey ones on items of fabric,” she provides. One other essential characteristic of this house is a swing.
“As kids, we don’t have this concept of seeing ladies resting. The first concept was to create a public house the place ladies may relaxation, simply sit round, and use the swing. It was essential for us to carry again the swing for grownup ladies. As kids, your mom would maintain you and carry out back-and-forth actions, which made you calmer. Swings, I imagine, emulate that back-and-forth motion, thus making it an ideal house for individuals to chill out,” she says.
Regardless of making an attempt to create this oasis for ladies within the slum, the struggle to reclaim this house is fixed, whether or not it’s coping with drunk males or younger boys taking part in cellular video games like PubG.
“I realised early on that aggression shouldn’t be going to assist. Personally, if it involves a struggle or flight state of affairs, I’m a really fight-oriented individual, however I realise in this sort of state of affairs that may by no means work. So, I might go and sit very shut to those males even when they’re very drunk. I’d go sit subsequent to them and that may make them uncomfortable. They might begin transferring away whereas I’m additionally serving to them perceive why now we have created these areas. In reality, I might additionally conform to get a drink, go to those ‘shady’ bars, sit and speak to them,” she says.
“For the longest time, they noticed me as this ‘straightforward lady’ however I held my floor. Trying on the greys (hair) on my head, these males had issue putting me. They might ask me, ‘What are you doing right here?’, ‘Are you beginning a tailoring store right here?’, and so on. They had been additionally not snug with the thought of an area the place ladies would do nothing. I’ve had many males strategy me saying, ‘Ask my spouse to go house as a result of there may be a whole lot of work that must be performed’. My response could be ‘You possibly can ask your spouse immediately’. I at all times encourage dialog,” she provides.
Nevertheless, up to now month and a half since Indu left for Europe to attend a sequence of occasions and conferences, some building work has begun within the space and the lads have began to crowd out the ladies there, particularly the tree that stands subsequent to the shutter store. Furthermore, the girl caring for the house in Indu’s absence started enduring some issues at house.
“The problem is navigating the gender energy dynamics in that space. Namma Katte is situated in one of many largest slums within the metropolis and it’s not straightforward to run an area like that for ladies. As soon as I come again, I’m planning to introduce some modifications, together with portray elements of the realm and placing up indicators there that if you happen to’re a lady you may sit right here, and so on. We’ll see how these modifications will work. I would like the native ladies to take over the house, take possession, and take care of it,” she says.
(Edited by Pranita Bhat; Photographs courtesy Instagram/Indu Antony, Instagram/Namma Katte, Instagram/Cecilia’Ed)
