Jasmeen has some thought-provoking posts on her blog on street harassment – Blank Noise Project…. particularly startling is this mind-map created by an all girl group of 60 between the ages of 17-23 on ‘public space’. The single overwhelming feeling seems to be violation – in different forms and of varying intensity… discomfort, stare, anxiety, aggression, vulnerability, fear, groping, feeling sick…
A must-read blog (thanks Harneet for the link)
Afterthought : reading responses to Jasmeen’s project, I realise that this – street harassment – is not a phenomenon in any way unique to India – there are voices of women from all over the world on how they feel on the streets – on ‘normal’ clothes – there has always been a rather simplistic explanation for sexual violence in a country like India – repression – but how does one explain such – deviant sexual – behaviour in otherwise ‘open’ countries – where sexual mores are much more ‘progressive’ (for lack of a better word for now) – where there is unlimited opportunity for interaction between the sexes from an early age – where there is no concept of ‘western clothes’ – or equating jeans or a skirt with modernity / vulgarity – as in India?
Disturbing for sure Charu .. thanks for pointing it out.
Check this out for sure horror … http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=56 …Human Rights Watch has released a set of images – children’s drawings from Darfurian refugee camps in Chad. They’re terrifying – crayon drawings of airplanes dropping bombs, burning villages and gun-toting men raping women. The images are a powerful reminder of the violence that mainstream media has more or less given up talking about.
Hi Charu
great to meet you here. Would you like to take part in the ‘ DID YOU ASK FOR IT?
the clothes gathered will be a part of a public installation….
what do you think??
warmly,
Jasmeen
ya sure Jasmeen, would love to… am emailing you..