February and March were crazy months in Bangalore. Following a whole host of attacks in Mangalore, there were some seven attacks on women in Bangalore as well. Brazen attacks, sometimes right in the middle of the day, pulling young women up (and assaulting them) for clothes they were wearing or languages they could not speak... or for no reason at all except that they were out, in a public space, as a woman.
Fearless Karnataka/Nirbhaya Karnataka was formed in late February: a bunch of friends and groups who came together at ALF one evening to try and frame a response to the recent madness. A website came up: www.baware.in and a series of events and petitions, including petitions to senior police officials and big events across the city.
The media was on the job, overtime. From the Pink Chaddi campaign to the Valentine's Day protests to the FKNK initiatives. An attempt at analysing their involvement in Infochange India, out recently.
The campaign was not defensive about its location as middle class and urban, and the media seemed overjoyed at their most feted demographic finally coming out onto the streets, ready to talk and happy to be photographed with provocative sloganeering. The middle class was making real news, and the English media was covering it every step of the way.
Read the entire article here.
