Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Indian women reclaim public spaces, defying male critics

IT began with two Indian women hanging out on Mumbai streets in defiance after a series of violent crimes against women. It has since grown and even spread to Pakistan, as women assert their right to public spaces in male-dominated societies.

The Why Loiter? street campaign was inspired by a book of the same name, that examined the risks for women on Mumbai’s streets. It came as an intense spotlight fell on women’s safety in India following the 2012 fatal gang rape of a student on a bus in Delhi and the 2014 rape of a woman by her Uber taxi driver in Delhi.


While the 2012 gang rape triggered massive protests and led to the tightening of rape laws in India, some of the reaction to it and the Uber rape blamed the victims, said Sameera Khan, co-author of Why Loiter?

“It’s the same blame game every time: why was she out that time of night? Why was she alone? Or who was she with? It’s all so hostile, and made out to be the victim’s fault,” said Khan in Mumbai.

“But why is it okay for women to only be out at certain times or for certain reasons? Why should anyone question a woman’s right to be in a public space at any time?”

The number of rapes in India rose by 9 per cent to 33,707 in 2014, according to official data. The country’s conservative and patriarchal attitudes mean victims of sexual assault are often shunned by their families and communities and blamed for the violence perpetrated against them, say activists and lawyers.

While the numbers of working women and female students are on the rise in India, it is unusual to see women out by themselves at night. In a data poll of 15 of the world’s major cities, Delhi ranked as having the fourth most dangerous transport systems for women.

Mumbai, India’s financial hub, is regarded as being safer, but attitudes toward women in public spaces are just as conservative, said Neha Singh.

Singh leads women on walks and bicycle rides in various parts of the city with other women, and curates a blog called Why Loiter? The women have encountered men who follow them and heckle them, and policemen telling them to go home.

“The concept that women, like men, can just be loitering in a public space, without doing anything else, is so alien to them,” she said.

“They immediately think she must be a prostitute or somehow inviting trouble and must be told off or sent home,” said Singh, after a rehearsal of a play called Loitering, to be staged on March 8 to mark International Women’s Day.

The campaign has prompted a demand to relax curfews in Indian colleges, where women have stricter curfews than men, and a movement in Pakistan called Girls@Dhabas, referring to the no-frills restaurants typically frequented by young men.

In India, recent campaigns including #SelfiewithDaughter and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Beti padhao, beti bachao’ (educate your daughter, save your daughter) have helped increase awareness of women’s rights.

New Delhi is now one of 25 cities which are part of the United Nations’ safe cities project, with measures to improve street lighting, install toilets, set up helplines and strengthen laws on sexual harassment.

Municipal officials however, admit that ending sexual violence will also need sustained public campaigns that dispel sexism and challenge gender stereotypes.

“We cannot, as a nation, claim progress until women can feel safe anywhere at anytime,” said Singh.

More For You

Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE is now investigating more than 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects, following years of public criticism and institutional failings in tackling child sexual exploitation.

A new report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has revealed the force has made “significant improvements” in dealing with group-based sexual abuse and related crimes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Diwali

This year’s Diwali event will still see Belgrave Road continue to host what is left of the festival. (Representational image)

Major changes announced for Leicester’s Diwali celebrations amid safety fears

LDRS

THIS year’s annual Diwali celebrations will be stripped back amid public safety fears. Leicester City Council has said there will be no fireworks or stage entertainment as part of major changes announced for the event.

Cossington Street Recreation Ground will also not be used for the festivities, the council has revealed. The green space previously was the location for the main stage and the Diwali Village with its food stalls, funfair rides, fashion and arts. The annual fire garden display was also based there, offering “a peaceful oasis amid the festive excitement”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Corbyn- Zarah Sultana

Zarah Sultana with Jeremy Corbyn during a protest outside Downing Street demanding the UK government to stop all arms sales to Israel. (Photo: X/@zarahsultana)

X/@zarahsultana

Zarah Sultana leaves Labour, plans new party with Corbyn and independents

FORMER Labour MP Zarah Sultana has announced her resignation from the party and plans to launch a new political party alongside ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other independent MPs and activists.

Sultana, who represents Coventry South, lost the Labour whip last year for supporting the removal of the two-child benefit cap.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hasmukh Shah

The certificate was presented to Shah at the Welsh parliament by Anita Bailey, Home Office Director Windrush Unit.

Hasmukh Shah receives UK minister’s certificate of appreciation

A prominent Asian doctor has been recognised for his services to the community. Prof Hasmukh Shah has received a certificate of appreciation for his contribution and services to the United Kingdom.

The certificate was issued by Seema Malhotra MP, UK Minister for Migration and Citizenship, as part of the Windrush Cymru Elders and Race Council Cymru’s Windrush work in Wales.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai-Lama-Getty

Dalai Lama looks on as offerings presented by Buddhist followers are laid on a table during a Long Life Prayer offering ceremony at the Main Tibetan Temple in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala, India, on June 30, 2025.(Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

India says Dalai Lama alone can decide successor

A SENIOR Indian minister has said that only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has established have the authority to decide his successor as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The comment runs contrary to China’s long-standing position on the matter.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that after his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader, and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He had earlier said that the next Dalai Lama would be born outside China.

Keep ReadingShow less