Basanti Soren comes from a mining, industrial and cultural hub in Jharkhand. Her district holds a strong position on the mineral map of the country which creates some fundamental problems for the locals. Basanti’s village, Lopongtandi in Ramgarh district is only a kilometre away from the East Parej Coal mine. For years she has witnessed how the mining has left…

Basanti Soren

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"Girls have a lot of restrictions on them. Boys don't have any restrictions. Also, boys say bad things when they see a girl by herself."

A teenager from Jharkhand rationalises why there's so much restrictions on her mobility, thus. Four years from the horrific murder and rape of Jyothi Singh Pandey in Delhi, what has changed for the women and girls of this country? They are still responsible for their own safety, not the patriarchal system that sees them as objects to be harrassed. If the only way we can think of keeping women and girls safe is by confining them indoors, then it's our outlook that needs to change. The right to public spaces, to free movement, indeed, the right to loiter, roam, walk free from fear is a fundamental right. Public spaces across the country are still the dominated by cis-gendered male privilege where women are see as interlopers. To change the system we must change ourselves--let's reclaim the streets today for everyone irrespective of their gender, class, caste.

COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENT BASANTI SOREN FROM JHARKHAND REPORTS FOR VIDEO VOLUNTEERS.  THIS SERIES DOCUMENTING EVERYDAY PATRIARCHY IS SUPPORTED BY UNFPA

Community Correspondents come from marginalised communities in India and produce videos on unreported stories.
These stories are ’news by those who live it.’ They give the hyperlocal context to global human rights and development challenges. See more such videos at www.videovolunteers.org. Take action for a more just global media by sharing their videos and joining in their call for change.