Is The "Girls Night Out" Campaign a Long-term Applaud?

By- Samyati Mohanty

Although there is a lot of concern about the safety of women in India, it doesn't get any better when people keep reassuring women that they "need a guy" to be protected, to roam the streets, or to be driven around. When will it be safer for women to be themselves and claim the streets equally with men if we feed this fear?

Women in India are always reminded how helpless and incapable they are. Very often women encounter such comments like "go wherever you want with you husband, once you are married!", "streets are desserted and are unsafe for you!", "If you step out at night, you are the one asking for trouble!", and the most legit ones are "good girls do not stay out late at night!", "it is difficult for men to control their hormones at night, so you need to stay indoors!"

Since the beginning of time, women have been subjected to stringent guidelines and limitations about what to dress, where to go, when to go, and even how to go. In addition to restricting women's freedoms, messages like "Don't go alone," "Don't wear this," and "Don't go here" place the blame for sexual violence and its avertance on potential victims rather than its offenders.

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Families use the notion of the "good girl" to confine and constrain women to archaic norms and behavioural patterns. A harmful trait that prevents females from realising their actual aspirations is raising them in the dread of being condemned for expressing their individuality.

An "exceptional response" was being given to the "Girls Night Out" campaign, in Muvattupuzha, Kerala, to encourage the fairer sex to go out after dark and create a nightlife in the town. Activities included food stalls, festive lighting, live music performances, zumba dance and training, and a women's marathon. This demonstrated the desire of Keralans for a nightlife that included women. The celebration lasted from 5:30 PM to 11:30 PM.

The project intended to make the streets of the town in the Ernakulam district into a livelier version of itself in addition to giving ladies the confidence to enjoy the nightlife.  A number of people and notable figures, including women, from the constituency and other locations encouraged and congratulated this initiative by expressing their support. On Sunday, the four-day programme came to an end.

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In the past, this town saw everyone winding down by 8 or 8.30 PM, the streets would be dark, and those arriving late from work had nowhere to go but stayed indoor. Parents of the girls and young ladies who participated in the campaign in large numbers and enjoyed what it had to offer also praised the initiative. One mother told a television station that women and girls should be permitted to leave the house after dark, whether it is to go out with friends or for employment. The parent said that "often we cannot choose our job schedules."

On the first day of the campaign, October 6, there was a talk show where women discussed the issues they face, such as the lack of public restroom facilities and the advantages and disadvantages of private bus operations. There were also food stalls, live music performances, zumba dances and training, and a women's marathon on various days of the campaign. The third day of the celebrations, Saturday, saw a higher than anticipated participation, which led to a shortage of food at the food stalls and restaurants that had been set up at the venue well before 11.30 PM.

The events took place from 530 PM to 11:30 PM every day. In addition to these events, St. Augustine's Girls HSS students set up a food stand and scheduled a music night on the final two days of the campaign to raise money for a classmate whose father has a serious illness. Kuzhalnadan had encouraged this campaign in a Facebook post, writing — "Don't assume that only men engage in nightlife". These astute students from St. Augustine's School are getting ready to declare out that it is also our's. The school's pupils told a television station that they wanted to demonstrate that a girls' night out can be risk-free for women as well.

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Everyone should do what they want to do, regardless of the time of day. Even though girls and women have all the rights, none of them feel confident enough to venture out at night. It is our goal to alter that. The campaign showed what women and girls are capable of. "They must not be kept in cages. When we steer young people away from the nightlife because we think it's wrong, they turn to drug and alcohol use in private to find excitement in life. Open up a little now. Let's take a liberal stance. We want Kerala to be like this throughout!" stated the change-maker.