One billion rising! on Feb 14th
Cubbon Park, Bangalore, 2.30 pm onwards

Come be a part of the worldwide movement - let's all rise and say enough is enough!

The facebook page for the event
https://www.facebook.com/events/453576991375838/?fref=ts

Website:
http://onebillionrising.org/

It starts from 2.30 pm onwards and promises to be a fun event with dance, music, theatre and a lot of inspired people :)

Come join us!

Queer Azadi Mumbai "Pride Walk!"
Feb 2nd, Saturday at August Kranti Maidan, Mumbai

From the Facebook event page: 
https://www.facebook.com/events/123754891125525/

PRIDE NOTE:

Time to Assemble: 2 pm

What time will The March begin: About 4 pm

Where will we march to : From August Kranti Maidan to Opera House to Kennedy Bridge and back to August Kranti Maidan.

Who will lead us: The QAM Banner and the Giant Pride Flag.

Where to Assemble: At August Kranti Maidan . Collect your posters and banner that you would like to march with . Get your mini Pride Flags

How do we know that the March has begun: The banner and the flag start marching . The security volunteers will start telling you to join in the march behind the flag .

Dos and Donts: Do stand on the pavements, don’t stand on the road .Allow the flag and banner to move ahead without obstructing its way. People at AKM will follow the flag first and will be joined later by people on pavement towards Nana chowk.
Avoid smoking in Public . Keep the march clean , no liquor or greater smokes or spirits.

What Happens next: Nashik Dhols start at the Nana Chowk and the march has begun.

On arrival back at August Kranti Maidan: Talk, have fun , disperse in a while and then join the Post Pride Party

Show your solidarity :)

The BBMP Forest Cell Bangalore - Green Police Volunteer Program

Hi all
I have been off with the flu for a while but here is something interesting for all those interested to do their bit for the planet, for wildlife, for nature :)

The BBMP Forest Cell Bangalore - " Green Police Volunteer Program " gives volunteering opportunities for interested candidates. 

Some of the activities include:

'Urban Wild life Rescue and Rehabilitation' 
'Bringing back birds to Bangalore Program'
'Illegal Wild life Trade and Investigation'
'Restoring Green Bangalore - Tree Planting Activity'
'Squirrel and Kite Rearing Program'

Volunteers can assist on a long and short term basis. For more details on enrolment, activity information and eligibility, please contact:

Mr. Sharath R Babu, Environment Advisor/ Hon. Wild life Warden (BBMP Forest Cell), 9880108801, sharathrbabu@gmail.com

Mr. Avinash Krishnan, Wild life Volunteer (BBMP Forest Cell), 9886672041, avinashstallion@gmail.com

Ms. Padma Mala, Wild life Volunteer (BBMP Forest Cell), 9845006851, padma2672@yahoo.com.

Planning Meeting on 21st Jan, 2013(Monday) - 5 pm at Alternative Law Forum

The consortium of groups and individuals working toward Gender Justice, spearheaded by the group 'Men against Sexual Violence, Men for Gender Justice' will be having their third meeting tomorrow at Alternative Law Forum at 5 pm.

The meetings on 31st December, 2012 and 7th Jan, 2013 explored the various options for taking the fight forward, to understand how best to solidify the energy into workable, realistic solutions.

The meeting tomorrow is to form volunteer committees and forces that can take the plans forward. So, all those people who want to do something please make it for this meeting as this is the perfect time to contribute your skills and time.

Let's fight the fight together :)

We are available at: Mob: 9632223460 / 9632506195/ 9483950202 | forgenderjustice.blr@gmail.com | facebook.com/ForGenderJustice |twitter.com/GenderJustBlr

Skirt this Issue in Chennai...tomorrow! January 17th, 2013

Skirt the Issue, Bangalore which has garnered a tremendous response from all over India and some other parts of the world is happening in Chennai tomorrow!

While this is not a protest or gathering, we urge men in Chennai to wear skirts and go about their daily lives to show their support.

And send us pics on the Facebook event page - https://www.facebook.com/events/548669051823800/?fref=ts.

Poster done by Surasti Puri for Skirt the Issue! Today, 4 pm at Cubbon Park. We walk from Brigade Road at 3. 

Posters done by Artist, Alicia Souza (https://www.facebook.com/the.aliciasouza?fref=ts) for our event 'Skirt the Issue!" (https://www.facebook.com/events/186135604866244/?fref=ts)

Come join us today at 3 pm on Brigade road as we walk down to Cubbon Park by 4 pm. Wear Skirts, Be a hero!

Freedom Miles 3 : Gopalpura to Okalipuram on Sat, Jan 12th (Today!)

Gather at Magadi Road 5th cross bus stop (Gopalpura) at 6 PM. Start walking at 6:30 PM

I am reproducing the email I got (because I have no time to write myself as today is Skirt the Issue!! Yayyy!). 

This is organised by 'Men against Sexual Violence, Men for Gender Justice'

Let's come together, walk through our neighbourhoods in freedom and without fear, talk about the violence women face every day, ask ourselves how we contribute to it, raise our collective voice against it, take action to address it and keep a constant vigil.

Let’s have a look at the statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau, 2011 for Bangalore city. 

Rape: 97 | Dowry deaths: 53 | Molestation: 250 | Sexual harassment: 40 | Cruelty by husbands and relatives: 458 | Kidnapping and Abduction of women and girls: 206

We also need to remind ourselves of the number of cases that go unreported

Let’s ask ourselves how we as a people, a society create and sustain the mindset that leads to rape. Let’s ask ourselves how power creates violence. Men who stand for justice and equality are ashamed, as a large section of men in our country are complicit in the abuse of women – rape, sexual harassment, domestic violence, economic and social discrimination.

Sexual violence is a gender-based crime, in which men use power against women

We get strength by seeing that there are countless men who share this anger, but we assert that sexual assault and sexual harassment of women occurs with frightening regularity.

As Urvashi Butalia said "It is important we raise our collective voice for women, but let’s raise it for all women, let’s raise it so that no woman, no matter that she be poor, rich, urban, rural, Dalit, Muslim, Hindu, or whatever, ever, in the future, has to face sexual violence, and no man assumes that because of the system and people’s mindsets, he can simply get away with it".(Urvashi Butalia)

Freedom Miles is a neighbourhood action of For Gender Justice – a campaign to raise our collective voice against violence women face on a daily basis and take action to address it. It is an initiative of Aneka, Alternative Law Forum, Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), Indian Social Institute (ISI), New Socialist Alternative (CWI-India), Open Space, Praja Rajakiya Vedike (PRV), Radio Active CR 90.4 Mhz, ReachLaw, Sangama, Students Islamic organisation (SIO), Vimochana, Voice for Human Rights and many other groups and individuals. It is an inclusive space and all like minded groups and individuals are welcome to join. 

They are available at: Mob: 9632223460 / 9632506195/ 9483950202 | forgenderjustice.blr@gmail.com | facebook.com/ForGenderJustice |twitter.com/GenderJustBlr

Skirt the Issue!!! This Saturday, Jan 12th, 2013 on Brigade Road - 3 pm.

Men - do you have the courage to wear skirts and join us in our fight for the freedom to walk down a road without fear?

A few friends and I are actively pushing for men to wear skirts and walk with us ! I am sure everyone is seeing and hearing what our country has become habituated to - that the women ask for it, that our clothes determine whether we will be molested or not, that an exposed body is somehow an invitation to touch, to grope, to squeeze, to brush, to stare....we want to turn this whole thing on its head to show just how ridiculous it is. From politicians to friends to parents and teachers - we will have heard the ' She was dressed like a slut, what was she thinking?', ' Her blouse was so deep, no wonder he was staring at her!' to the lecherous man on the street, 'Oy, Super maal!' whether one is wearing a salwar, a saree or jeans....enough times for it to sound normal.

Just because it common, it is not normal.Just because we hear it often, it is not okay. 

So, we ask men to wear skirts and walk down Brigade Road to show that what one wears has nothing to do with whether one is going to be sexually harassed. Men in our country have worn lungis for ages,legs and thighs exposed.. and have rarely been molested. (I say rarely because I did not want to say never, for I do not know if a man has been molested in a lungi or not) . The concept of the walk is also to creatively shatter norms of patriarchy and masculinity, the gendering of our behaviour, our clothes - why are men so scared to wear skirts? 

So stop skirting the issue - come wear skirts, walk with us, join us in our fight. 

It's your fight too.

Saturday, Jan 12th, 2013
3 pm at Mota Royal Arcade, Brigade Road.

After the walk down Brigade Road and MG Road, we gather at Cubbon park to talk,discuss, inform and hopefully, force people to think...before thinking.

Public Meeting (For Gender Justice) at UTC on January 7th, 2013 at 5.00 pm.
For all those who feel protesting and demonstrating is an ineffective means of expressing yourselves, here is a chance for you to contribute.

There will be a Public Meeting held at United Theological College, Benson Town, Bangalore (http://www.utcbangalore.in/contact_us.htm) on Jan 7th, 2013, Monday at 5.00 pm  to discuss the next steps to be taken in the fight for Gender Justice.

The meeting is spearheaded by the collective 'Men against Sexual VIolence, Men for Gender Justice' that organised 'Freedom Miles Walk from Basvangudi to Jayanagar'  held on 29th Dec, 2012 and  'Men against Sexual VIolence, Men for Gender Justice' protest held on 30 December 2012 at Town Hall.

The meeting on Jan 7th  a follow up the the meeting held on 31st Dec, 2012 at Cunningham Road where 40 people participated. The issues discussed at that meeting, broadly, were:

1. Reforms in the Law
2. Working with the Police
3. Joint and Individual Memorandums to Political Parties to cleanse them of criminals
4. Letters to State and Central Governments on the same
5. Representation of women in Parliament
6. Have Political parties have Women's safety as a part of their political agenda
7. Local actions in neighbourhoods
8. Take the help of Stree SHakti groups to spread awareness in the areas that they operate
9. Crisis Intervention Mechanisms
10. Helpline Systems
    
    And my favourites
11. An app on the lines of Tech Mahindra's 'Fight Back' App. This App tracks the user's location and sends SOS messages to the user's selected contacts by pressing a panic button.It tracks location using GPS. It is available for the public,  free on Android and Blackberry and this is the website : http://www.fightbackmobile.com/welcome
    
    There is also another app called B Safe Safety Alarm. I do not know yet if it is similar. I have downloaded it. It is available for Android here :https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bipper.app.bsafe&hl=en
12. A member at the meeting spoke about how he and his friends were working on a similar app (geotagging; mapping places that were unsafe,the  number of harrasment incidents at various places etc ) and was enlisting the support and expertise of designers, social media experts et al to change the face of the fight (Anyone reading this who wants to help, please get in touch)
13. Bracelets which are designed to give off a siren whenever someone was in an unsafe situation, subject to molestation, harrasment..something similar is apparently being used by Hong Kong's Sex workers.
14. And another tactic used abroad - WOmen police officers in plain clothes move around areas where molestation is high, faces an incident and picks up the offender immediately )What a brilliant, simple idea..I really wish we could do it!)

Be sure that the next meeting will have a lot of exciting stuff being discussed...So do come for the meeting on 7th to contribute and Be a part of the change. Let's do this!
For queries, directions etc call  9632223460 / 9632506195/ 9483950202.




 

Hi everyone - protesters, silent demonstrators, candle holders, angry people, sad people, hopeful people, cynics and anyone else who just wants to know what is going on in different parts of the country in terms of movements, direct action, protests, vigils, meetings, demonstrations etc

I've started this page in the wake of the wave of anger and desperation across India after the Delhi gang-rape in December 2012. I realised that there were many small-scale efforts happening all over Bangalore (and I am sure, in other cities as well) and there is no one place that you can go to know of these various initiatives.

It's Here Only hopes to be that one-stop place - where information about all these various initiatives are collated and added so you can know and and you can choose whether you want to be a part of a particular initiative or not. This is not just for those initiatives linked to the anti-rape protests but also all other micro or macro-lever initiatives that may come up in the future. 

Many feel that protests and demonstrations are a waste of time, an eyewash with no real effect. But what the protest does and what the protestor wants to do is - to remind. To remember. To prevent us from forgetting.

For if we forget, the State forgets.