Claim your City Walk to fight gender bias

More than 400 people, including women, community members and workers, joined the ‘Claim Your City Walk’ to fight gender bias in the city on Saturday evening.

Holding placards, banners and shouting slogans about development, people started walking from the Statesman Building at the Barakhamba Road and assembled near the Jantar Mantar Road.

The event was influenced by “Take back the night” events organised in places such as Bangalore, Sidney, the UK, San Francisco and Vancouver. The walk was initiated in New Delhi last year on December 10.

“This is not a besharmi morcha. We demand good governance to ensure safety and empowerment of women as equal members of society,” said Shivani Bhardwaj from Sathi.

The main objective of the walk was to press for demands such as right to the citizens.

“Last year, we had the same walk on security and safety issues that became more of a hue and cry about lack of streetlights and safety of women at night.

Sustainable development

“This year, we are focusing on sustainable development and promoting better employment opportunities for women through eco-friendly community centres,” said Shreya Talukdar, a member of Youth for Women and Habitat campaign.

The students of Barcelona and Jamia School of Architecture have developed an urban gender plan for Okhla New Delhi in one year. Their work has been appreciated by the National Women Empowerment Mission. The demands have already been presented to the Delhi governor for further recommendations.

Women’s right

“We need to respect the right of all to essential services, infrastructure, for a woman’s right to access the resources her city has to offer through government schemes, for workers to ask for migration and placement centres and youth to plan spaces for learning and entertainment,” said Bhardwaj.

After the rally, people from different human rights organisations  made presentations on women, youth and workers' empowerment.