#IWillGoOut, say Pune women

To break social myths and reclaim public spaces for women, a nationwide movement, #IWillGoOut will be held across 22 cities in the country today. The movement, which came into being after the mass molestation case of Bengaluru came to light, focuses on the problems women face in public spaces. An initially far-fetched idea, it gained momentum through conversations among groups of women on social media.

"We want to end the victimhood that women face and instead shift focus to sexual harassament as a problem. It is a national cause which will be addressed by the movement #IWillGoOut. The movement is democratic and leaderless, it is not a demonstrative one but leverages into action orienting steps,” shared

Divya Titus

, a part of the national team.

The women-led movement will sign a petition at the end of the march to ensure...
- Right to exist in public spaces- Exercise the right of movement- A more inclusive and safe infrastructure like clean public toilets and street lights in the city- Accountability of irresponsible comments- Gender sensitisation- End victimhood of women

Rucha Satoor

, who is a part of the Pune chapter of this walk, shared, “We will walk for women’s rights to access public spaces without the fear of being sexually harassed or called a “woman of questionable character”. We own these spaces as much as others do. In fact, this will perhaps be the first time that several women will come out to reclaim their spaces, as the movement is taking place across different cities across the nation. “Women are often discouraged from stepping out alone. They are also blamed if they are subjected to sexual violence. Questions about what they wear and why they are out late at night are asked. Through this movement, we want to put an end to such queries. We are looking at changing this narrative,” added Foram Mehta, a part of the movement in Pune.

However, this isn’t the first time that such an initiative has been taken by a group of women after cases of sexual abuse have moved the country.
After the gruesome rape and murder of ‘

Nirbhaya

’, which shocked the nation on December 16, 2012, there was an ‘Aurat Bandh’ declared by a PR professional in the capital. Other cities followed suit. But it failed to create awareness about the cause. Rucha assures that #IWillGoOut will not end just as a march. “This walk is just the first step. We will be signing a national-level petition to ensure a safer environment for women,” Rucha shares.

And the initiative is not to put men down. Members who have started the campaign say that importance should be given to gender sensitisation. Deepsha Shukla, the social media person for the Pune walk, added, “Our movement has got nothing to do with hating men. We have in fact received immense response from men as well, who are coming out in support of women to claim our public spaces.” The movement starts at 4.45 pm from Rani Lakshmibai Udyan, on MG Road. With a registered participation of over 100 people on social media alone, #IWillGoOut is expecting larger participation from people beyond the online space “Social media doesn’t always translate into participation. So, we have gone beyond that and included a cross section of people,” added Rucha.