Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Women took out a solidarity march from Boat Club to Van Vihar gate on Saturday evening, demanding greater safety in public spaces and the freedom to move around without fear.
The women said they would organise a protest every month to keep the issue of women's safety in public spaces in focus.
Their key demand is to increase police patrolling in Bhopal so that women can move freely in public places and live on their own terms.
Explaining the choice of venue, the organisers said they had conducted an online survey asking people to identify the place they considered most unsafe for women in Bhopal.
According to them, the protest was initially planned at Bharat Bhawan, but the police did not grant permission to hold it there.
Participants carried posters with slogans such as, “It's not the daughter's clothes, change your mindset."
The protesters also raised the issue of alleged vote theft during the march by holding placards. As a symbolic act of solidarity, women wrote "Smash the Patriarchy" on each other's hands.
