It was women power at its best. More than 3,500 students and 200 lecturers of Mount Carmel College hit the streets, with placards and banners — with brave bold messages written on them — to rally for the safety of women.
The rally was organised to demand that the women in the City be spared of all kinds of atrocities.
The student body of the college started working on the posters well in advance. Messages like, 'My body is not your playground', 'Our body, our right', 'Men are the problem, keep them at home after nine', 'Where I am, at what time is no excuse for rape' sent out strong messages to the public and even the powers that be. There were students from all classes and backgrounds.
After the management of Mount Carmel College got a couple of complaints about eve teasers outside the college premises and the autorickshaw driver menace, the management banned the entry of autorickshaws after a certain point. The college is in constant touch with the jurisdictional police to ensure that nothing untoward happens outside the college premises.
Principal Sr Juanita, who led the protest, says, "The rally was organised to protest against all kinds of atrocities committed against women, right from the time a girl child is born. I've noticed that the cases of rape and other forms of violence against women are on the rise. And now, more than ever before, women have started reporting it and talking about it rather openly. That's why the rally," Juanita tells Metrolife.
Sr Juanita also points out that the college has a women's cell and organises regular lectures to make the girls more aware about their rights. "Women must be aware of their rights and must resist all kinds of exploitation," she adds.
Armed with umbrellas, caps and shawls around their head, the girls marched on, shouted slogans and made as much noise as they could, to grab public attention. They started from the college in Vasanthnagar, wormed their way through Cantonment Railway Station, Queen's Road through Cunningham Road and returned to the college, covering about three kilometres.
Ria, a second-year journalism student, feels that the mindset of people, especially men, has to change. "People's attitude will have to change. More than rallies, I think men must be more sensitive towards women and they must monitor their own behaviour," she says.
Derin Sara Mathew, second-year BCom student, explains that the rally was organised to create more awareness among the public on the safety of women. "Women need to lead a life with respect and dignity. Some of our girls have complained about eve teasing outside college. Taking an autorickshaw or a bus is fraught with a lot of risks," explains Derin.
The college also has a sizeable number of students from the North East and even they confess that while they consider Bangalore a much safer place, here too things are getting bad. Whuthu Linggi from Arunachal Pradesh says that they are not spared of eve teasing. "It is safe but we always get to hear lewd comments about us and our bodies. It is still not safe to walk after it is dark," she sums up.
The rally was organised to demand that the women in the City be spared of all kinds of atrocities.
The student body of the college started working on the posters well in advance. Messages like, 'My body is not your playground', 'Our body, our right', 'Men are the problem, keep them at home after nine', 'Where I am, at what time is no excuse for rape' sent out strong messages to the public and even the powers that be. There were students from all classes and backgrounds.
After the management of Mount Carmel College got a couple of complaints about eve teasers outside the college premises and the autorickshaw driver menace, the management banned the entry of autorickshaws after a certain point. The college is in constant touch with the jurisdictional police to ensure that nothing untoward happens outside the college premises.
Principal Sr Juanita, who led the protest, says, "The rally was organised to protest against all kinds of atrocities committed against women, right from the time a girl child is born. I've noticed that the cases of rape and other forms of violence against women are on the rise. And now, more than ever before, women have started reporting it and talking about it rather openly. That's why the rally," Juanita tells Metrolife.
Sr Juanita also points out that the college has a women's cell and organises regular lectures to make the girls more aware about their rights. "Women must be aware of their rights and must resist all kinds of exploitation," she adds.
Armed with umbrellas, caps and shawls around their head, the girls marched on, shouted slogans and made as much noise as they could, to grab public attention. They started from the college in Vasanthnagar, wormed their way through Cantonment Railway Station, Queen's Road through Cunningham Road and returned to the college, covering about three kilometres.
Ria, a second-year journalism student, feels that the mindset of people, especially men, has to change. "People's attitude will have to change. More than rallies, I think men must be more sensitive towards women and they must monitor their own behaviour," she says.
Derin Sara Mathew, second-year BCom student, explains that the rally was organised to create more awareness among the public on the safety of women. "Women need to lead a life with respect and dignity. Some of our girls have complained about eve teasing outside college. Taking an autorickshaw or a bus is fraught with a lot of risks," explains Derin.
The college also has a sizeable number of students from the North East and even they confess that while they consider Bangalore a much safer place, here too things are getting bad. Whuthu Linggi from Arunachal Pradesh says that they are not spared of eve teasing. "It is safe but we always get to hear lewd comments about us and our bodies. It is still not safe to walk after it is dark," she sums up.