Nap Under The Open Sky: Women's Unique Campaign For Safety Rights

Hundreds of women are expected to gather in public places in cities across India to take a nap in the open air this Sunday. The 'Meet to Sleep' campaign, initiated by non-profit organisations, is a protest to assert women's rights for safety in public places. This weekend, it will be held in cities like Bengaluru, Bhopal, and Indore among other cities, where women will come together in the afternoon to relax and take a nap for two to three hours in parks. The participants must bring their mats or bedsheets and unwind on the ground.

The campaign was first launched by a Bengaluru-based organisation called Blank Noise, which started in 2014 following the gruesome gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh (Nirbhaya). In Madhya Pradesh, an organisation called ActionAid has adopted the campaign in Indore and Bhopal.

'Meet To Sleep' Campaign

Blank Noise first proposed this unique protest strategy in 2008 before it was mobilised in 2014. Their website states that Meet To Sleep intends for women to have the "right to be defenceless." In a world where many women stay alert and carry pepper sprays in their pockets to feel safe, Meet to Sleep intends to give women the chance to live without fear.

The founder of Blank Noise, Jasmeen Patheja, told the New Indian Express that the organisation recognises that every citizen's relationship with the city and public spaces is unique. She reminded me how most women are subjected to lewd comments or uncomfortable touches in public spaces, which is why Blank Noise wants to change that. 

She told New Indian Express, "I wished to sleep in Cubbon Park and despite being with my colleagues I couldn’t," adding that this was when the idea of Meet to Sleep came to her. The Blank Noise website states, "In sleep, we fight the fear and warnings we have long been taught to carry. In sleep, we surrender in trust... We meet to sleep for the right to be defenceless. We Meet to Sleep to create a new reality through collective feminist action. We Meet To Sleep because collective action is powerful and can create new collective memory. We Meet To Sleep because defencelessness is our birthright."

Along with ‘meet to sleep’, the Blank Noise team has initiated campaigns like ‘walk towards healing’, building testimonies of clothes people were wearing when they faced sexual or physical violence. 

Madhya Pradesh's ActionAid volunteers told Free Press Journal that hundreds of women are expected to attend the protest in Indore and Bhopal each. “Where do we sleep? Where can we sleep? At a place where we feel safe because once we are asleep, we cannot remain alert. So, by sleeping in a public place the women will be sending out a message that public places are safe for them,” programme lead Soumya Saxena said, adding that this event is being organised for the first time in Madhya Pradesh.