Why Were Bahujan Women Ousted From Kolkata Rape Protests In Mumbai?

The horrific incident of Kolkata rape and murder has sparked widespread outrage leading to protests and demands for woman's safety. Women across the country have joined these protests, including those in Mumbai. The women's collectives united to protest against the incident and join the nationwide call to 'Reclaim The Night'. The women of the Powoi area of Mumbai joined the call for safety by organising a protest. Women of the Powoi slum also joined the protest to claim security and safety from the sexual violence they face. This unison of protests by women coming from different backgrounds was not welcomed by the gated society of Powai's Hiranandani Gardens, where reportedly the women from the Jai Bhim Slums were denied participation. 

As per the reports by The Wire, the women of Hiranandani Gardens joined the 'Reclaim The Night' call by organising a protest with the banner 'Concerned Citizens' urging people to join the protest against the Kolkata incident. Messages of protest were shared across the society, in the college WhatsApp groups and the posters were shared on the social media platforms. The protesters were to gather at the Galleria shopping mall on August 14. 

Women and other residents of the Powoi slum also joined the protest with their own issues of sexual violence. They aimed at bridging the class and caste divisions in the protest and creating a unison that demanded the safety of women. The women of the slum joined the protest with the placards saying, “Jai Bhim Nagar women have one demand: Safety!”

Slum women ousted from the protests

But they weren't welcome in the protest which apparently was an open protest. Women protesters from the Powoi slums were harassed and asked to move out of the protest. One of the protesters from the high-class society said, “Your issues are different from those raised here." While another said, “This is an exclusive protest only for residents of the Hiranandani complex.”

The protesters from the slum tried to explain their ordeals to the high-class protesters but their effort went in vain. The issue only escalated with one of the residents of Hiranandani Gardens snatching the placards of the protesters from the slum. 

The risk of sexual violence on the women of Jai Bhim Nagar slum

The Jai Bhim Nagar slums were demolished on June 6 leaving many families homeless. Some of them migrated back to their villages while others stayed by making the footpaths of the basti as their homes. Many of these former residents of the slum work as security guards, domestic workers and more in the gated society. And still, the residents of the society are against their protests to demand safety. 

The women of the slum area are always at the risk of sexual violence. In fact, many have already faced it. CCTV cameras have been installed everywhere in their area, including those lanes leading to public toilets.

A teenage girl who was part of the protest said that the Kolkata incident shook her but couldn't stop relating to the woman. “The lane leading to the footpath where we currently live doesn’t even have streetlights. At night, women take turns staying up just to ensure no passerby molests us,” she said to the media portal. 

Adarsh, an IIT-Bombay student said that women of the slum had been demanding safety for a long time before the Kolkata incident happened. He told the media, “It’s been a part of their daily struggles, but the women from the Hiranandani complex didn’t want to acknowledge this.”

Hence, the residents of the Powoi slum found the protests as the perfect opportunity to bring their issues to light. The protests of August 14 were hence joined by the residents who were mainly Dalits and people from Other Backwards Castes (OBC). But this wasn't acceptable to the residents of gated society. 

The 'open' protest couldn't rise above the class and caste divide

Recounting the experience, 22-year-old Reshma told the media that the protest site was as brutal as their withdrawal from the slum and the destruction of their homes. She said, "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."

Meenatai, a resident of the destroyed slum, has been leading the protests against the municipal corporation for a long time. She told the media that the current protest was an important opportunity to bring the sufferings of slum women to light. She added, "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." 

 “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 said. 

The struggles of the slum residents to date

The residents said that they have even moved the Bombay High Court against their illegal withdrawal from the Jai Bhim Naga slum and the destruction of their houses. According to them, the demolition was done without any prior notice. They have been living there for more than two decades. 

The residents allege that the demolition was done under the command of the Hiranandani developers. When the residents protested the demolition on June 6, men who were hired by the developers dragged women and children out of the protest in a bid to stop it.