Unsafe even in the presence of protectors

A fortnight ago, a woman who had been feeding stray dogs outside her home in Thiruvanmiyur, as she had done for twenty years, was accosted by two police personnel. During an argument, she filmed a policeman identified as Karthik telling her and the camera directly that she had brought harassment onto herself by being outside after midnight. This harassment presumably includes harassment by the police themselves. The woman shared the video online, which drew some amount of flak for the cops. The Thiruvanmiyur police station initially said a probe would take place, but the case has since been closed. There are presently many arguments ongoing nationwide on issues concerning stray dogs. This is not an attempt to wade into those, which are complex and developing. This incident may be read by some as harassment of the feeders of strays, which it may or may not be. What it is, unambiguously, is about women in public spaces, minding their own business, and being told what to do or what not to do. It is true that a woman being out in Chennai, or indeed any part of India, late at night, may be at a higher risk of danger. (It is also true that there is no place more dangerous than the home, where the vast majority of all forms of violence occur). But for a cop a person entrusted to protect to say that being out and about is itself an invitation for harassment or worse is severely problematic. It is the she asked for it mindset. This mindset demands womens obedience and punishes those who do not conform. It is held in place by all patriarchal agents, including women themselves, mothers-in-law and mothers, teachers and friends who believe that harm experienced through contravening rules that keep women and girls fettered is harm deserved. The policeman in this incident simply spoke out loud a diktat that everyone lives under, fears, rebels against, or doesnt. He is no more sexist than an average passerby, but his badge demands more accountability. The duty of police personnel in a public space, such as Thiruvanmiyur beach after midnight, is to ensure general safety, and to only enforce curbs on illegal activities or those that create serious disturbances; not based on morality standards. A person feeding animals shouldnt have been a cause of concern. Any woman being out so late should only have been a cause of concern insofar as polite enquiry about whether she required assistance (such as, for instance, had she fled a domestic dispute and was wandering around aimlessly?). It should not have, upon learning that what she was doing was innocuous, included telling her to go and to remain home. Often, a woman is unsafe in the world because the world is unsafe. Sometimes she feels more unsafe in the world because someone reminds her that she ought to behave like she is. She is inhibited then not by her own fear, justified as it is, but by someone elses fear of what she might do, if she wasnt afraid at all. This is at the rotten heart of all dominance in the guise of protection.