DWS Extra

You say anything about Blank Noise Project, and you instantly get hit with a deluge of abuse. Not the fault of those behind it, definitely. It is an either-you-are-with- us, or you-are-with- the-terrorists mentality. Of some of their readers. Goes to show that small-mindedness is not the exclusive preserve of men, so maybe I should congratulate the gaali-givers! I was once called “Dancewithshadows Hater”. That was really funny.

Anyway, some of their supporters seem to think that questioning Blank Noise’s methods is the same as supporting rapists. Sad. (That’s not from any comment.)

I have been following their work. It definitely has significance – they set out to capture some of the public space that has been denied to women; try to beat men at the ganging up and staring game, give out letters and talk to the curious. All good. Yea, except the staring at men business. Probably has no positive effect on the dangerous guys, and confuse the rest. All men have at some point been in a situation where they were stared at by girls. Has happened to me, when I landed up on a side-street where girls lined the compound walls lf several houses on either side. They did not stop staring, and I was suitably embarrassed. Girls, please go Yay! now.

Point is, what next. At CP, while stenciling on the pavement near Rivoli, people got aggressive. Some guy pulled someone’s dupatta. Blank Noise members got away. Don’t know if the dupatta was given back.

But that is the state of affairs in Delhi. If in the national capital of India, if a bunch of women decide to stencil some message on the ground (illegal activity? I don’t know), drunk guy shouts, aggressive crowd gathers and someone pulls someone’s dupatta and all a bunch of women can do is get away. If that is all a group of women can do, I seriously doubt how far away real change is.

Me, Dancewithshadows Hater, is neither blaming them or mocking them here. I would have decided to slink away too, in such a situation.

But this is it? The event tells me exactly how bad the situation can get in India. And all we can do – even when in a group, is to get away? No retaliation? No police case? No IPC 509?

This is pretty bad. A nice guy (though a bit of a nitwit) recently told me that women who get raped often desire it subconsciously. And here I was, under the false impression that it was a belief that was dead and gone. He was young, had a little bit of a spiritual side – and I had to ask him if all the women who were raped during Partition wanted to get raped, and those women who go for a walk with their husbands or boyfriends are subconciously wishing a rape.

This is worse than I thought.

And when things are so bad, how important is Blank Noise’s obsession with the relatively milder hassle of being stared at?

Women have been telling me that lechers are a lot lesser now in Delhi, as the composition of the city changes, and the number of professionals who are busy enough increases. But whether that is true or not, the fact remains that there is nothing a bunch of women could do – or wanted to do, despite the IPC 509 – then where is a real action plan? Something that will make a bigger difference to attitudes and violence against women? If the people who are vocal about street harassment are bullied about on the street,what chance does the lonely woman in a crowded bus have?