Chennai women cycle to assert their right to the city

The night cycling event helmed by the civic body is one of many steps to reclaim women's right to Chennai.

In the sweltering Chennai summer heat, Amala endearingly helps her friend Pavithra who is fretting and nervous about riding a bicycle through the busiest roads of Arumbakkam. To add to her stress, the ordeal is unfolding at 9 pm, a time highly unusual for women to commute casually in Chennai.

While Pavithra anxiously pedals, constantly shifting uncomfortably in her seat, with several eyes watching her every move, Amala and her friends join Pavithra in solidarity. They cheer her on, as she slowly and gradually adjusts her eyes to the dizzying traffic and steadies herself to a comfortable pace. 

Cycling in the streets of Chennai at night

Pavithra and the group are joined by other enthusiastic women from various zones in the city and the ride ends at the Pondy Bazaar pedestrian plaza located at the heart of Chennai. The women cyclists along with other pedestrians and onlookers get together to sing songs, make merry, and celebrate the Saturday night.

women in Chennai cycling at night time
The event saw widespread participation from women. Pic: Gender and Policy Lab

These were some of many warm moments witnessed by the city of Chennai on the night of May 28 as the City’s Corporation facilitated a night cycling event to encourage women to assert their right to the city. The ride was led by the 28-year-old dynamic Mayor of Chennai, Priya Rajan, and had participation from hundreds of women including senior officials of the Corporation.  


Read more: How friendly is Chennai towards women cyclists?


Chennai, a contemporary and vibrant cosmopolitan metropolis with a colonial legacy and rich Tamilian traditions, has typically leaned towards the conservative end of the pendulum, particularly in matters of women’s mobility. From everyday conversations with domestic workers to college students to city councillors, we understand that unmediated access to public spaces is absent for most women. 

I am always on the move and I also see other women always on the move here.”

“My dressing is analysed and my character is accordingly judged when I step out.” 

My perception of safety at night is that it is unsafe.”

“I feel like I am being followed.”

While one can see active economic participation by women in the city, from the street vendors in Tondiarpet to the stream of lawyers outside Madras High Court, the idea of lone loitering is still missing.  

While it is important for city officials to promote women and individuals from gender and sexual minorities who generally lack visibility, to use the public facilities, it is equally important for the practice of women cycling to simply be present without a plan or ceremonials to become the daily norm. Now how can an Indian city like Chennai internalise and accommodate women who want to be mobile at any given point without a care in the world? 

Women’s right to Chennai city

Women’s mobility has always been under scrutiny in Chennai.  She is observed, stared at, and studied as she commutes from home to school, work to park, beach to bus stand, wedding venue to funeral home, grocery shop to Mars! This inspection forces girls and women to stick to familiar terrain and adhere to only the most comfortable routes while commuting. 

The story is grimmer for women who do not belong to the dominant narratives of caste, class, gender, and physical abilities. The option of strolling alone in unfamiliar neighbourhoods is almost always stolen from the women and girls under the protectionist pretence of safety. They find private spaces within public spaces to remain hidden or invisible. 

It has been more than a decade since the book ‘Why Loiter’ captured Indian hearts and minds and launched a series of conversations on women’s safety and their access to public spaces.  Any individual who identifies as a woman always has to demonstrate their reason and purpose for being in the public to garner agreement in the eyes of the community.

The research undertaken by the authors elucidates how women do not have equal access to spaces as men. In order for women to maximise their access to common areas as citizens, surveillance and a protectionist attitude are not what is required but simply the unconditional right to these places.

So the question is how can women have unrestricted access to public spaces without any masquerades or pretences? 


Read more: Gender and Policy Lab to work towards a safe and inclusive Chennai


Role of the Gender and Policy Lab

While evidently there are necessary requirements for friendlier infrastructure and services to support this shift in culture, it will take tremendous efforts to bring forth such a change in behaviour and attitude. The Gender and Policy Lab housed within the Greater Chennai Corporation, the oldest Urban Local Body in India, is hoping to create this much-needed change with the support of government departments, community-based organisations, and the citizens. 

Supported by the Nirbhaya Fund, the Gender and Policy Lab was established as part of the Chennai City Partnership between the World Bank and the Government of Tamil Nadu.  One of the focus areas under this partnership is to improve the safety of women and girls in public spaces and to make public transport more gender inclusive.

The Lab will assist the implementing agencies in carrying out projects to meet this objective. There will also be campaigns similar to the cycling ride to encourage women and individuals from gender and sexual minority communities to claim their right to the city. The idea is for a simple cycle ride to steer the necessary ripple effect for bigger occupation and public infrastructure and services usage.

Here’s hoping the coming months see a wave of cultural change with women taking to the streets and simply meandering because they can!    

Also read:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

‘Banni Nodi’: How a place-making project is keeping history alive in modern Bengaluru

The Banni Nodi wayfaring project has put KR market metro station at the heart of a showcase to the city's 500-year urban history.

KR market metro station is more than a transit hub in Bengaluru today, as it stands at the heart of a project that showcases the city's 500-year urban history. The Banni Nodi (come, see) series, a wayfinding and place-making project, set up in the metro station and at the Old Fort district, depicts the history of the Fort as well as the city's spatial-cultural evolution. The project has been designed and executed by Sensing Local and Native Place, and supported by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).  Archival paintings, maps and texts,…

Similar Story

Wounds of cyber abuse can be deep, get expert help: Cyber psychologist

Cyber psychologist Nirali Bhatia says that parents, friends and relatives of sufferers must not be reactive; they should be good listeners.

As technology has advanced, cyber abuse and crime has also increased. Women and children are particularly vulnerable, as we have seen in our earlier reports on deepfake videos and image-based abuse. In an interview with Citizen Matters, cyber psychologist, Nirali Bhatia, talks about the psychological impact on people who have been deceived on the internet and the support system they need. Excerpts from the conversation: What should a person do, if and when they have fallen prey to a deep fake scam or image abuse? We need to understand and tell ourselves it is fake; that itself should help us…