HYDERABAD: The hashtag #IWillGoOut has been trending online ever since it began two years ago with women across the country raising their voices for safety in public spaces. The walk for safety for the second year in a row was held on Sunday across different states. The participants were asked to mark the area they were walking on by leaving a message stating that they will go out in the public irrespective of time or space.
Many women in Hyderabad took to social media and shared photos of their drawings on roads. Seetha Vinod, a 23-year-old techie, said, “It is a movement that is essential to check the mentality that women should not step out after hours or should dress in a certain way if she wants to go out at night. You cannot question the woman, instead question why she cannot walk in a public space without jeers following her?”
The march was held at Public Garden in Nampally. Varsha Bhargavi, an official from the child welfare department and the state coordinator for the walk, said, “A lot of school girls and even college students attended the walk and shared their views. A lot of families present there on a Sunday questioned us about the rising number of cases against women.” Last year saw many online campaigns supporting women like the #MeToo in which woman shared if they had been abused at some point in their life. A lot of women in Hyderabad shared the #IWillGoOut campaign.
Marches were also held in Bengaluru, New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur and other cities where women turned up in large numbers.
