The Loitering Prowess: A Feminist Approach To Wandering And Public Life

Space and gender have always been interconnected. Having access to space is an important part of being independent. But one gender uses public space more than the other due to the roles and associations society has tied to them. The real question is whether people of all genders can move around and use space however they want. What empowers them to do so? I move through public spaces just like everyone else, but as a woman, my usage is very different from a man's.

I am, in a way, free. I can go anywhere at any time because I'm a free citizen, but is that possible? In the back of my mind, I frequently hear my mother alerting me to exercise caution. Taking a break from my constant overthinking, I decide courageously to go out at whatever time, but the journey to the door makes me doubt myself so much that it makes me feel bad. Questions like "Where are you going?" "Who are you going to meet?" "What time will you be back?" "Why do you have to leave after dark?" is so commonly asked by families of girls and women when they are going out. 

For men, going out is just something they want to do, not something they have to do. There are hardly any curfews, no time limits, and no questions - they just need to say, "I'm going out." To be a wanderer without fear is still a pipedream for many of us as women. Men can walk alone at midnight, stop for chai, or make plans on the way. However, if you imagine a woman doing this as fearlessly as a man, we both know it is a utopian land that doesn't exist.

Leaving Home: Why Planning, Preparation and Caution Are Crucial

Being a woman and leaving the house is a lot of work. Precautions, planning, and plotting are the three Ps that are required. The first stage is planning. The where, why, how and when of travel. Planning the route and taking public transport. The next stage is plotting. We are trying to concretely define the goal and present our case to the family, who will decide if the goal is attainable. If nothing else, you must be cautious and time it when the sun adorns the sky. Finding the best, minimal and body-covering clothing that makes us invisible, if not disgusting to other people.

Most women travelling alone cannot afford last-minute changes or impromptu plans. They cannot leave home without a plan. She must conform to the surroundings, cover up, and wear modest clothing. Carefully planning the route from one location to another requires consideration of all external obstacles. She must reach her destination, fulfil her purpose, and leave as quickly as possible.

What happens if she chooses to take a quick detour? To stay? The premise is ludicrous as it is. It is not okay for women to roam wherever they want to. Why would she hang around if she has no work in that area? So, she arrives back, no tea stops, checks the sky, opens her maps and hails the first medium that takes her back home. Always ready to return. Don't breach curfew. 

The Impact of Deliberate Accents on Shaping Welcoming Public Spaces

Have you ever felt like you needed to justify stepping out at night? Women receive instruction about not leaving their homes after dark, arriving home on time, and maintaining curfews. No one teaches her how not to loiter, but tells her what to do. Although it is unspoken, she learns that she must have no interruptions in her travel from home to work, her school, her college, her friend's house, etc.  

Even though women are educated, employed, and earning, navigating public spaces isn't as simple as it may seem. Despite all the preparation, strategy, and safety measures, women have very limited access to public areas. Women's safety cannot be jeopardised without the accessories that come with access to public spaces. First, the macho gaze, hoots, low light, and the presence of cars for public transit.

The argument for restricting women's freedom of movement is often met with concerns about security and safety. Ironically, though, the solution to creating a safe environment is not increasing security or surveillance but rather limiting the freedom and liberty of women, not of criminals or potential criminals. Society believes that the best way to protect women is to lock them away while allowing criminals to go free. Therefore, women must utilise their right to take risks to refute this argument, obtain liberty, and obtain access to public spaces. Only by claiming this right can she rightfully claim her citizenship.

Curfews and Caution- Why Women Don't Loiter 

Deprivation becomes a catalyst for action, through prolonged, persistent ways in which women overcome obstacles to realise success. It's not easy to prevent someone from accessing a public space. When education, employment, and personal time are not negotiable, there is a deprivation. Women are deprived of education when they leave school early because of public spaces perceived as dangerous, even if that means not completing classes and, therefore, risking their education.

They are deprived of their education and, in other cases, work commitment or simply because they are terrified of the commute through public spaces and use of public transportation. Our culture has produced safety (for women) by denying, limiting, and restricting women and not by instituting policies that have to do with tougher laws against criminals and criminality, protectionism, and increased surveillance.

Imagine in a city, women on street corners chatting and laughing, nursing children, exchanging business cards, and organising protests. Imagine streets full of women aged 24 to 94, taking charge of the world, drinking tea, discussing romance, cricket, and this week's latest blockbuster. Imagine women in skirts, saris, jeans, and salwars lounging at the nukkad drinking chai, gazing at the more recent propagandadas, and thereon wondering about world politics. If you can imagine this, maybe it's time we stopped imagining and started building spaces where women can wander freely, one street, one fearless step at a time. time.

Written by Hridya Sharma. Views expressed are author's own.