The #MeToo movement has brought to light how rampant sexual harassment really is. However, women have been aware of this for years. From wearing headphones without music, to clutching onto pepper spray, constantly adjusting our clothing and going way out of our way to avoid incessant approaches from men, women have to constantly be aware of their surroundings. This perpetual fear is what Blank Noise is trying to combat with their initiative Meet To Sleep. Blank Noise is encouraging women to “assert the right to live free from fear, and defenceless.” Founded in 2003, Blank Noise started with the aim of combating harassment on the streets and has now come to be a multi-city collective and has been able to attain a global outreach with the #INeverAskForIt mission.
Meet To Sleep is nothing more than women napping in public places to claim what is rightly theirs — a sense of security and the freedom to move around freely without any sense of discomfort. This peaceful intervention will take place on December 16, 2018, between 2 pm and 5 pm at multiple locations across India. Meet To Sleep was conceptualised by the founder of Blank Noise Jasmeen Patheja in 2008. However, the first Meet To Sleep was held in 2014. Between 2014 - 2017, Meet To Sleep has been built in over 21 cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Lucknow, Dimapur, Kohima, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Surat, Mumbai, Panjim, San Francisco, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Vadodara, Jodhpur, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Kandwari.
“We Meet To Sleep, in memory of Jyoti Singh, also known to the world as #Nirbhaya, the fearless one. Jyoti Singh was gangraped and murdered on December 16th, 2012. This year marks 6 years. This year, we #MeetToSleep remembering all those who said #MeToo and #NiUnaMenos. This year, we #MeetToSleep. We sleep remembering what we know, and the stories that are yet to be told. We #MeetToSleep in solidarity,” states the organisation’s website.
Meet To Sleep has been built in collaboration with multiple individuals, who Blank Noise refers to as Action Sheroes as well as feminist allies from across India and some from Pakistan as well. Sangat, Why Loiter, Girls at Dhabas, Jagori, One Billion Rising, Hidden Pockets, Global Concerns India, Radio Active, Vimochana, Malleswaram Social, Homescreen Network, Breaththrough, North East Network, CAFP India, Chhoti Si Khushi, Sahas Foundation, Azad Foundation, Srijanatmak Manushi Sanstha, Start Up , Srijan Foundation, Red Brigade, Center For Health and Social Justice are some of the collaborators involved with Meet To Sleep.
Date: December 16, 2018.
Time: 2 pm to 5 pm.
Venue: Multiple locations across India.
Click here to register.
Visit the organisation’s website to know more about Meet To Sleep.
If you liked this article, we suggest you read: