Reclaiming safe public spaces, environments for women

Nagaland joins symbolic #MeetToSleep campaign

Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 16
 

On Saturday, the fifth anniversary of brutal Nirbhaya gangrape and murder, the commercial hub of Nagaland, Dimapur, joined the rest of India in a protest against lack of safety in public places through a small yet symbolic event.  

The #MeetToSleep event was held at the premises of State Stadium Dimapur, near DC Court junction, where a group of concerned citizens had a time of sharing and prayer. In similar events organised across the nation, citizens assembled under a tree to protest in a novel way against what happened to Nirbhaya five years ago between 12 noon to 4:30 pm on December 16.  

In Dimapur, it was led by Renemla Ozukum, a theologically trained activist and speaker, who is actively engaged with women’s issues and the challenges they face.  

A small part of the stadium premise was occupied as a way of demanding safe spaces for women in the Naga context. “We talk a lot about the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder in India but in Dimapur and Nagaland I am sure even more Nirbhayas are taking place,” she told the gathering while expressing concern that many of the well known public spaces in and around Dimapur are used to commit sexual assault.  

We need to reclaim such spaces for public good and safety because for a majority of women, using public spaces without fear of molestation or harassment is a luxury and not a right, Renemla suggested.  

“We are joining in solidarity with others nationwide in this campaign #MeetToSleep. And by doing this we are also Re-collecting and Re-membering the vulnerable and helpless victims who were raped, murdered, shot dead and molested sexually by the dominant gender. By participating we want to heal and restore the spaces around us—make it alive and beautiful,” she stressed.  

The initiative, ‘Meet To Sleep’, is the brainchild of Jasmeen Patheja, the founder of ‘Blank Noise’ who told News18 in an interview that, “For too long we have been told to be careful. We are now changing the narrative.”  

A volunteer-based project against street harassment of women, Blank Noise has been organizing events where women meet in parks and simply sleep for a couple of hours on a bench or on the lawn.  

Patheja says that every time a woman is harassed she is told to be more careful, she is asked to be strong. “The justifications just don’t end,” she said. “This is an invitation to reject all those warnings,” she added.  

The campaign’s objective is to enable women to become ‘action heroes, who fight fear, fight victim blaming/shaming, break denial, and initiate trust and empathy,’ she added.  

“Take a nap in a public park. Build this action where you are,” a Facebook post regarding the campaign read. Besides the event in Dimapur, it was reported that a similar meeting took place in the premise of Kohima War Cemetery.  

During the meeting in Dimapur, a senior media practitioner expressed concern that a lot of these cases of rape, murder and other forms of crime go unreported and thereby giving the impression that “our Naga society does not care about truth and justice.”  

A more active engagement and partnership should be developed between the police, media and activists working on the ground, he suggested.