Book Review

Why Loiter? Women and Risk on Mumbai Street
Author:- Shilpa Phadke,Sameera Khan,Shilpa Ranade
Published By Penguin, India
Publication Date:-15 February, 2011
Print Length :- 240 Pages
ISBN:-9780143415954(Paperback)
9788184752960(Ebook)

In a city that never sleeps, “WHY LOITER?”, dares to ask why women must. Deeply rooted in the author’s subversive wit, this book challenges the entrenched patriarchal notion of public — private divide, which is relevant and timely. India, a developing country with multiple urban centers where cosmopolitan lifestyles are being redefined, women’s engagement with public spaces is still being controlled and conditioned. Women in contemporary India are ready to take on risks and, as this book rightly points it , where they now desire to break through the confining shackles of conventions and challenge the meanings attached to everyday concepts of safety, modernity, and citizenship.

Within the confines of their capacity as women,one hesitates to come out and claim to be true citizens of the country, as they are not even accorded with the minimum of their fundamental rights to go out in a public place at any time they feel like without automatically turning into a social pariah? Growing up ,every woman has been accustomed to common phrases like, “what will people say?’’ “women of good households don’t loiter”, “don’t go out of the house at night”, although how often do we stop to question the provenance behind these restrictions, is it just for safety and protection or is it way more complex than that?

This book by Shilpa Phadke, Shilpa Ranade and Sameera Khan is divided into four sections, namely – “City Limits”, “Everyday-spaces”,”In Search of Pleasure” and “Imagining Utopias” with essays that focus on different facets of the debate, which can be read on their own, setting a critical foundation, questioning the very nature of what is ‘safe and ‘unsafe’.

In the first section, videlicet ‘City Limits’ , the authors explore how public spaces in Mumbai are gendered and how discriminatory societal norms restrict women’s mobility under the guise of safety and protection. This section of the book presents the thematic working of the book; relating the themes of gender and safety , risk and citizenship within the context of the histories and geography of exclusion in the city of Bombay, and taking it further to the discursive formation of risk that polices women and supports sexism while reducing their freedom. Additionally , the authors offer insight and analysis on how dynamics between caste and class elements manifests in the matter of gendered exclusion and control.

“Everyday Spaces” is by far the most ethnographic and humorous section, that deals with daily experiences of travel, public defecation and gathering of women in Mumbai. It focuses on the daily experiences of women navigating Mumbai’s streets, parks, markets, and public transport and examines how women strategize to legitimize their access to public spaces, often engaging in acts of loitering as a form of resistance against societal norms. By simply being present without purpose, women challenge gendered expectations and assert their right to the city. This section also addresses the diversity of women’s experiences, emphasizing how different backgrounds influence their interactions with public spaces.

Gendered modernity and liberation, embodies the essence of a Bombay girl, which carries with it a complex set of expectations and realities that affect women’s daily lives. In the later sections,namely “in search of pleasure” and “why loiter” the authors explore the complexities of pleasure-seeking for women in Mumbai and argue that women should be able to participate in public spaces for fun without stigma or purpose. They discuss the challenges faced by young women, Muslim women, and marginalized groups in public spaces. The co-authors highlight the importance of women’s access to public spaces as a fundamental right and draw on data gathered from surveys, interviews, and personal experiences to suggest viable practical solutions for making urban spaces more inclusive and accessible to all.

In contemporary Mumbai, even though certain women are a desirable presence in the public, especially in their roles as professionals and consumers, women have only conditional access and not claim to city public spaces. While some women have greater access to public spaces, such as mixed community areas like Bandra and Andheri, they still have to conform to the norm to access them. For instance, in Bandra, women can wear short skirts and be seen as good girls; while in Matunga, good girls must not show any legs. Things such as being asked where you were, with whom and why, at what time and in what attire quickly turn pleasure into something twisted for women. Even women who do have “claim” to some of these spaces are still bound by patriarchal norms. Women in workplaces are encouraged to be ambitious, work late hours, and achieve success like their male counterparts; however, women who get promoted too quickly are viewed negatively. The urban geography of Mumbai, the intersectionality of gender and caste, and the experiences of elderly, transgender, and differently-abled women in public spaces are all debated upon.

Therefore, the co- authors envision a more inclusive and equitable city where the boundaries of class, gender, and respectability are blurred, allowing for a richer, more diverse urban experience. by promoting loitering, traditionally stigmatized, as a fundamental right , hence justifying the title of the book. The authors call for more gender inclusive urban planning that recognizes and supports women’s right to unconditionally access the public spaces freely.

The book thus crystallizes upon the idea of using public spaces for pleasure disrupting the division between private and public space, and hence, between respectable and non-respectable women, thus undermining the illusion of privacy that women are expected to perform. In this way, the act of loitering, which is the rambunctious, purposeless hanging, that feminists demand should not be seen as illegal, but to be considered of political significance, which allows for women to redefine their relationship with public spaces and claim their rights as full citizens in such spaces.

References :-

Harshit Agarwal. Women In Public Spaces:Unveilling the Myth of Protectionism. Advanced Centre for Women Studies, Aligarh Muslim University

K.A Frank and L.Paxson . Women and Urban Public Space:Research Design and Policy Issues. In I.Altman and E.Zube(Eds) Public Spaces and Places. New York; Plenum,1989:121-146.

Anandi Mishra. ’Why Loiter’ Ten Years Have Passed Since the Seminal Book on Women Alone in Cities was Published. Scroll.in. May 03,2021

Wikipedia.org.Why Loiter?Campaign en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Why_Loiter?_Campaign

Mehrin Ahmed
Intern, Asia in Global Affairs

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, in his personal capacity. It does not reflect the policies and perspectives of Asia in Global Affairs.