Mumbai: After the horrific rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata, calls for protests spread rapidly across West Bengal, quickly reaching major cities across the country. Outraged by the response of the West Bengal state police, various loosely organised women’s collectives united to call for nationwide “Reclaim the Night” protests. Messages were circulated in housing society and college WhatsApp groups, posters were shared on social media, and women, regardless of political affiliation, took to the streets in large numbers on the night of August 14.
One such call for a peaceful gathering was issued by the women residents of Hiranandani Gardens, located in the upscale Powai area of Mumbai. This call, made under the banner of “Concerned Citizens,” urged everyone to gather in “large numbers” outside Galleria shopping mall, a public space open to all.
Around 60-80 women and a few men, mostly residents of the Hiranandani complex, gathered around 11 pm. Many women – both young and old – from the recently demolished Jai Bhim Nagar slums, located just a stone’s throw from the plush housing complex, also joined the gathering.
However, this show of solidarity was not welcomed by those from the gated community. The women from Jai Bhim Nagar were met with hostility and asked to leave the protest site. “Your issues are different from those raised here,” said one of the protesters from the high-rise. Another added, “This is an exclusive protest only for residents of the Hiranandani complex.”
Confused, the women from the Jai Bhim Nagar slums tried to engage with the Hiranandani residents, explaining their ordeal of living in the open and the constant fear of sexual violence they face.
The exchange soon escalated, with one Hiranandani resident even snatching away placards from the hands of the protesters from the basti. Despite their resilience, the women from Jai Bhim Nagar were eventually harassed into leaving the protest.
The Jai Bhim Nagar slums were demolished on June 6, right at the onset of monsoon. Nearly 650 families lost the homes they had lived in for over two decades. While some migrant families returned to their native villages, many had no choice but to stay behind. The footpaths around the basti have now become their “homes.”
Forced to live in the open, the residents of the Powai slum saw the August 14 gathering as the perfect opportunity to both extend solidarity with those protesting the tragic death of a doctor in Kolkata and also bring attention to their own day to day struggles.
Despite the very clear caste and class divide, the women from Jai Bhim Nagar hoped to bridge these gaps and forge solidarity. But things didn’t turn out as they had hoped.
For 22-year-old Reshma, the experience at the protest site was “just as brutal” as losing her home to the demolition.
“It was an open call for protest, organised in a public space. That’s why we joined them. But they made us feel that only one kind of woman and her safety matter. Our safety and concerns are not seen as gender issues by them,” Reshma, who had gathered at the protest site, told The Wire.
The women protesters from Jai Bhim Nagar basti gathered with placards that read: “Jai Bhim Nagar women have one demand: Safety!”
“This was their chance to understand the everyday violence that the state and general public inflict on women like us. Since the demolition, our families have been forced to squat on the footpath. Women and young girls from this basti have never felt so vulnerable,” said Meenatai, one of the residents of the demolished slum who has been leading the agitation against the municipal corporation.
“These women from the high-rises can only empathise with those like themselves. To them, a woman is a victim only if she comes from their own caste and class. The rest of us don’t exist for them,” Meenatai added.
The basti, comprising mostly families from Dalit, Other Backward Classes, and Denotified communities, had existed for over two decades. They allege that the demolition was carried out without prior notice, and the victims have moved the Bombay High Court against the city’s civic body for demolishing their houses during monsoon – an action clearly prohibited by a government resolution.
Many from Jai Bhim Nagar allege that the demolition was carried out at the behest of the Hiranandani developers. On June 6, when residents continued to protest the demolition, several men, allegedly hired by Hiranandani, gathered at the site and dragged women and children out.
When the residents retaliated, the police charged many of them under non-bailable sections and had them arrested.
The Reclaim the Night protests organised by women residents of Hiranandani gardens, where Bahujan protesters were stopped from participating. Photo: By special arrangement
A teenage girl from the basti, who had accompanied her mother to the August 14 protest, said the Kolkata rape incident shook her.
“I have never met her, but I could relate to her,” she said. Living on the footpath, she added, makes her anxious about her own safety.
“The lane leading to the footpath where we currently live don’t even have streetlights. At night, women take turns staying up just to ensure no passerby molests us,” she shared.
Her fear is not unfounded; several women and young girls have faced sexual abuse while living on the footpath. These women also face constant surveillance.
Soon after the demolition, CCTVs were installed all across the area. The residents of Jai Bhim Nagar allege that this was done at the behest of Hiranandani developers and residents. “Even the lane leading to the public toilets now has CCTVs installed,” one woman shared.
Adarsh, a student volunteer from IIT-Bombay, noted that the women had been speaking out about sexual violence long before the Kolkata incident.
“It’s been a part of their daily struggles, but the women from the Hiranandani complex didn’t want to acknowledge this,” Adarsh said. Like Adarsh, many students from IIT-Bombay and other universities have been involved in the ongoing struggles of the residents of Jai Bhim Nagar slums.
Residents of the Jai Bhim Nagar slum with placards about their demand for safety of women. Photo: By special arrangement
It is not that that the women from Jai Bhim Nagar have no connection with those from the luxurious residential complexes nearby.
From security guards to domestic workers – the work force come from these bastis. This relationship highlights a significant sociological dynamic: the well-being and functionality of upscale neighbourhoods are dependent on the labour of those living in impoverished conditions. If these workers were to stop, the daily operations of the high-rises would grind to a halt.
Since the demolition, women from Jai Bhim Nagar, particularly the younger ones, have been urgently seeking full-time jobs to escape the harsh conditions of living on the footpaths.
In their desperation, many have accepted exploitative work environments and very low wages, highlighting the harsh choices they are forced to make in their struggle for stability and dignity.
