A march for women’s safety

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 11

In an interview, Varnika Kundu said most women in Chandigarh have been subjected to stalking. Echoing her views, more than 600 people tonight marched with torches, starting from the Rose Garden bus stand to the parking area opposite the Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10, for the safety of women.

Emphasising the safety of women and raising voice against patriarchy and hooliganism in the city, both men and women took to streets, raising slogans. Some of them read: “My name is Vikas. I’m from Haryana and I don’t support stalking. The geri route is also my route to work and college. I’m not here for your entertainment and I don’t go by your clock. I’m way ahead of your time.”

The march was organised by women from different walks of life, including Sharmita Bhinder, a lawyer, who now runs an NGO for children’s rights, poet Amy Singh and member of the SFS and Lokayat Aman Deep.

While a Haryana-based woman activist, Jagriti Nirvana, spoke on woman empowerment, Pam Rajpoot, who heads the Centre for Women’s Studies at Panjab University, recited “Gal chucki hai mombattiyan”, along with Somya Joshi, Amy Singh and Aman Deep. Sharmita Bhinder, along with Indu Dhawan, addressed the gathering. “A girl’s psychology gets conditioned. We need to teach her to be more assertive and stand for her rights,” they said.