Sriyanshi Bhatt, Week 6

Why Loiter? 

It becomes unmistakeable that if a society’s structure is of a kind that supports patriarchal domination, spaces that seem outwardly to be completely gender-neutral, have nuanced battles of gender role at play. And the perpetuation of these subtleties become essential for the perpetuation of the patriarchy. The invisibility of the skewed dynamic becomes extensively dense in areas where representation of women is seen as fairly equal, for instance, educational establishments such as university spaces where managerial positions are still predominantly filled by males, and in contrast, the visibility of these skewed gendered positions on the road becomes increasingly apparent. 

Access to something as fundamental as safe right to passage is in itself seen as a luxury for most women. I, personally, have never met a woman who has not been taught the politics of walking in public. To look down, not make unnecessary eye-contact, but stare sharply when someone follows you back, is part of a woman’s daily vocabulary. This denial of safe passage further represents the paternalistic tendency extended towards women, of either sheltering them in the public or restricting them completely to the private. The natural structure of the patriarchal society, hence then, villainises the cities in itself to serve as barriers of female mobility and thereby, women’s rights as equal citizens.