On 10th December (Wold Human Rights Day) in cooperation with CSR Connext, we set up the interactive installation “Walk in Her Shoes“ on two locations in Vadodara in order to raise awareness for sexual violence in public places.
The event involved members of the public engaging in a life-size Snakes and Ladders game displaying experiences of and tips to tackle sexual violence at public places. A ‘Footstep-Installation’, spread out on the walk, quoted victims of street harassment as well as findings from our Pilot Study on the Perception of Women’s safety in Vadodara, such as
“More than 50% wo_men in Vadodara either avoid going out alone after dark
or change their route while going out in public places.”
The installation generated a much needed public discussion with varied responses: Some participants of the debate created disruption, intentionally destroyed parts of our installation they considered as “obscene” or “untrue” and even claimed that Olakh is “just trying to give the city a bad name […]. My wife and sister can walk on this street even at 11 pm”. Whereas others – including young and old men – were coming forward to take a stand for us. With gumption some women shared their experiences with the gathered crowd, asserting that “there is no denying that incidents of harassment take place here [in Vadodara] on a regular basis. […] Today I can’t walk alone after 7.30 pm. […] Yes, I AM A VICTIM OF EVE TEASING!”
Incidents and confessions like these reinforce and prove our conviction that even though Gujarat is considered to be one of the safest states to live in India there is still a long way to go to make Vadodara truly safe for wo_men and girls – especially with regards to people’s mind-set.
Nevertheless, it was empowering to see how many Barodians – across gender and age groups – supported our cause.
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