Beat It

That’s what a group of professionals in the city is saying to gender violence, having launched a campaign after the Juhu molestation

SHE walks hurriedly past the throng of people coming her way. All she wants is to reach her destination on time. From the corner of a lane, he waits patiently to ruin her day; a look, a word or a gesture will do the job, he knows. Then, in a flash, they are side by side, he pinches her lightly and moves on. But she turns back with surprising nerve, she will not take this lying down; she will fight back.

A quick look around crowded places in Mumbai is enough to agree that thousands of women endure such harassment on a daily basis. And also to see that only a few will take action.
With that in mind, comprehending the problems victims face in coming out in the open to speak up against gender violence, a group of twenty-somethings who work at a media organization in Central Mumbai decided to create a platform for such women. And that’s how Fight-back was created, spurred into action by the New Year’s eve incident at Juhu.

“We have heard about rape, eve-teasing, groping incidents. But the Juhu molestation case was a true eye-opener. We had noticed that when any such heinous act comes to light, it makes front page news for a couple of days, the stake holders come into the picture, and the case goes on for some days before it all goes dead. People forget about the incident till the next victim grabs headlines,”
says Sonali Hans (34), one of the members.

The group was formed primarily by 38-year-old Zubin Driver, a media professional who was irked by gender violence and decided to bring his friends together.

The core team of Fight-back comprises 10 people. Interestingly, six are male. "We feel very strongly about gender violence, there is no question of male chauvinism when dealing with it. Most of my female friends and colleagues have complained of being eve-teased or molested at least once. I am sure that is the case with most women in the country. What makes the situation worse is that for most of them this has become a way of life and they just turn a blind eye," says Siddhartha Aneja (24).

As a start, group has manufactured special wallet cards bearing the telephone numbers of...all police stations in the city. “Before starting the group, we consulted the Mumbai police who readily supported the cause; we ensured that all the numbers we are printing are actually operational,” says Hans. “We also consulted lawyers who readily agreed to help us, pro-bono. Often, victims don’t know what legal action to take, the cards will give them a ready option to consult experts and proceed,” Hans adds.

The cards have been distributed to women at various public places like railway stations, bus stops, schools and colleges.

To catch the attention of youngsters, the group has also tied up with organizers of events like rock concerts and the Mumbai Marathon. “I-rock concert has been a big boost for us, music cuts across barriers. We used the platform to sensitize the youth about gender violence,” says Aarthi Gunnunuri (23), another member. They have also started a community on social networking site Facebook to spread the message. In addition to this, the group has its own website www.fightback.net.

Next on the agenda is to take the campaign to rural areas. "Though it is a low key movement, we have got tremendous response from the urban areas. But, rural areas still remain a problem; and gender violence there is even more severe," says Aneja, on the challenges before them in making this a "truly pan-India movement"....