Pledge to End Street Harassment featured on Hollaback! Mumbai

Hollaback! Mumbai has featured RtM post Pledge to Confront and Shame Street Harassers. For those who don’t know, Hollaback! is a global movement dedicated to ending street harassment. Says the Hollaback! Mumbai About page:

Street harassment, known in India as ‘eve teasing’ is one of the most pervasive forms of gender-based violence and one of the least legislated against. Leering, whistling, being referred to as food (mirchi, began, tamatar) to groping, flashing and assault are a daily reality for women in India and across the world. Harassment can occur on the train, in parks, maidans, cinema houses, on the street, on university campuses, buying vegetables, anywhere. But such incidents are rarely reported, and are culturally accepted as ‘the price you pay’ for being a woman and living in a city. At Hollaback!, we don’t buy it.”

I highly recommend checking out the Hollaback! project; it’s a great way to affect the street harassment culture in a positive way. Anyone can get involved, contribute to or even start a chapter of Hollaback! in their area.

If nothing else, take the pledge and/or tell someone you know about it. Thanks!

I’m About to Reboot the Blog.

I’ve put a bit of distance between myself and the blog, for a few reasons. I’ll try to articulate the major reason here.

Most of my posts up until this point have been consistently negative or polemic pieces. I love writing those pieces, but I’d like to head in the direction of writing positive stuff and start creating dialogue; open up the lines of communication rather than dropping cluster bombs on them.

I won’t stop writing pieces that eviscerate the immoralities and ignorance of anti-abortion activists and their doctor-killing comrades. I won’t stop exposing systematic police violence, writing about various attacks on minorities, the poor and workers, or having my disagreements with pro-government civil libertarianism.

But I want to have a dynamic blog, with assets ranging from informational value, critical analysis and investigative journalism to useful dialogues and building networks.

My apologies to anyone kind enough to read my blog, and thanks to anyone who stuck it out.