Making a whole lotta noise

Why are you looking at me? This ain’t a blank question. It’s a potent answer to Mumbai’s savage streets. So, when you see girls waving placards with that question, and staring fixedly at men, at Bandstand, VT, or Churchgate, remember: they are protesting with the power of silence.

They are part of the Blank Noise Project —  a group of girls who are fighting sexual harassment in Mumbai.

The campaign against eve-teasing originated online. Offline, the project was kicked off in August 2003 by Jasmeen Patheja and a group of nine girls in Bangalore. It didn’t take long before the campaign reached Mumbai where eveteasing has sadly become part of everyday life.

Now, with cases of sexual assault on the rise in the city, Mumbai is no longer perceived to be safe for women. “It all starts with the casual attitude of men and women to eve-teasing,” says 18-year-old Pallavi Sen, member of Blank Noise, Mumbai. “Since Mumbai seems to be better than other cities, we think it’s safer than most places.

However, eve-teasing happens everywhere, and Mumbai’s no different.”

Whenever Blank Noise protests, it calls it an ‘intervention’, whose cost is borne by volunteers. For instance, a silent protest aboard a train to Andheri is an ‘intervention’.

Mind the Gap will be Blank Noise’s next intervention in Mumbai. “We are collecting clothes of women who were sexually harassed when they were wearing them,” says Nisha, a 26-year-old model and a member of Blank Noise.

“It shows that women are harassed wearing clothes ranging from a salwaar kameez to skirts, and from full-sleeved shirts to sleeveless blouses. The response has been
lukewarm, though. Probably because women think eve-teasing is not a serious
issue. But sexual harassment on the streets cannot be ignored.”

What makes Blank Noise tick? It’s a community of young female professionals who interact with people in public places in innovative ways. The group also urges women to post their experiences online and strike a chord with people who have gone through similar incidents in life.

Blank Noise’s blog, full of pictures of volunteers and participants, is candid but instructive. By revealing their experiences online, women tell others how to deal with groping, teasing, pinching, etc.

“The immediate reaction of women is to blame themselves. That’s wrong. Why should a woman feel guilty for a man’s lechery?” says Sen. “I was molested when I was 12, twice in one day. I felt ashamed. But, slowly, I realised that it couldn’t be my fault.”

Although Blank Noise has four core members, it derives its strength from a pool of volunteers which is small, but growing. Being a part of Blank Noise has changed Sen’s life.

“People might say that a small group of women can’t change the attitude of men and society, but every woman who joins Blank Noise to fight eve-teasing makes that much more of a difference.”