Join me with Safecity for a discussion on Safe and Sustainable Cities

For the entire month of April, Safecity is making a case for safety, especially women’s safety in our cities and communities – one of the targets of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. As a part of this worldwide effort, we are focusing on Goal 11 – ‘Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’.

Safecity (registered under Red Dot Foundation) is a platform, founded in 2012, that crowdsources personal stories of sexual harassment and abuse in public spaces. This data which maybe anonymous, gets aggregated as hot spots on a map indicating trends at a local level. The idea is to make this data useful for individuals, local communities and local administration to identify factors that causes behavior that leads to violence and work on strategies for solutions.

Come join me with Safecity for a discussion on safe and sustainable cities!

I curate Safecity’s Twitter account this week again for the third time, for an exchange of thoughts, a debate, new perspectives, and most importantly to know more about what it takes to make our cities safer for all. I discuss this with a focus on ‘Omission of women in urban planning’. I’ll also be conducting a Twitter chat concerning safety in India’s 100 smart cities on 8th April 2016 9 PM IST/11:30 PM EST. Save the date!

I’ve never discussed this on my blog before, therefore a background is called for. Somewhere in August 2014 and also in October 2015 I’ve had a chance to be a #SafecityCurator, where I was able to engage the audience in different perspectives on how different things connected to women’s safety. There was a theme for every week – ranging from – how involvement of women in the environmental movement will help us find and implement solutions to our environmental crisis, women in STEM, awareness through art, role of government and laws for women’s safety, how the changing environmental conditions affect women in particular, with respect to energy, water and climate change, gender gap and sustainability, the role of media and advertising in women empowerment or the lack of it, role of comedy and feminism in women’s safety, an unbiased look at violence against both men and women, women in waste management and the safety issues related to it, how technology, science and education can help bridge the gender gap and how it is possible, and gender issues in sustainable development and how the world is resolving them. I even conducted a Twitter chat on #SaferCities for female tourists/commuters.

Following are the themes discussed with Safecity’s followers in detail:

Greener world with women

• Exposing gender gaps in financing climate change mitigation
• Women Barefoot solar engineers a community solution
• Grow in the dark plants for safety
• #Solar lamps for safety
• Empowering Urban Women and Girls in the Developing World with Human-Powered Clean Water Solutions

Science & Technology

• Halonix Safer City Project
• Young inventors create innovative gadgets for women’s safety
• Top SOS apps for #Women’s Safety in #India: Which one do you prefer and why?
• A woman was molested in a taxi at Kolkata. Why can’t we have more of She Taxis?
• Helping women get online
• STEM Study Shows Hiring Managers Favor Men Over Women
• High-Tech Apparel That Promises Rape Protection: Innovative Or Risky?

Art and women

• Egypt’s first veiled rapper is sick of sexual harassment
• Graffiti artists take to the streets of Brazil to combat violence against women
• 12 Amazing Images That Remind Everyone Women Are The Bosses Of Their Bodies
• All Around The World, A Street Artist Proves ‘Women Are Heroes’
• Shout Art Loud: A ‘living report’ on art and sexual violence in Egypt
• Artist redraws Marge Simpson and Disney princesses as battered and bruised victims of domestic violence
• New exhibit asks what’s with the gender imbalance in art?
• Off the Beaten Path: Violence, Women and Art

Ideas for womens’ safety (IDEO)

• Women-only bus doors
• Photoluminiscent paint for safety
• Let’s raise boys and men to end violence and discrimination against women and girls

Food for thought

• Light Pollution Endangers Our Security and Our Safety
• Unsafe on #Twitter
• OSHO talk: Adapt or resist?
• Teach Your Daughters Money Lessons They Will Never Forget
• What’s So Scary About Smart Girls?
• Why are you supporting women in tech?

Stories

• Scenes from an abusive relationship  #YesAllWomen
• Meet the Tanzanian Woman Who Said No to a Forced Marriage

Government and laws

• An Open Letter to Prime Minister Modi on the Issue of Women’s Safety in India
• #Didyouknow: Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana Launched in India
• #Didyouknow: The Nirbhaya fund is being used to train girls in self-defence
• “Deployment of constable behind every woman in the state is practically impossible”: SP leader Abhishek Mishra
• “Boys do make mistakes, but they cannot be hanged for that.”: SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav
• Bihar minister blames smartphones for rapes
• India state minister: women should not wear bikinis on Goa beaches for own safety
• Stop abuse of women safety laws: Court
• Government cannot protect all women in U.P.: Urvashi Sharma
• Know your laws: Women Safety
• Mahila Suraksha Dal to be set up in each district of Delhi

Gender gap and sustainability

• Do you know any organizations that provide women what they need to be a part of the process towards sustainable development?
• One such organization is the UN. One of UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) is #genderequality. What do we need to reach this goal? 1/2
• Let’s start with these three things: 1. access to education and training 2. information and technologies 3. decision-making. What else? 2/2
• Let’s discuss how the changing environmental conditions affect women in particular, with respect to energy, water and climate change.
• Indoor smoke from solid fuel causes chronic diseases and cancer in women. Does LPG Subsidy Surrender Campaign help? Your thoughts. #giveitup
• Indoor smoke from solid fuels affects women and children to a higher degree than men. Do you know any innovations sprouting out of this need?
• Women in India spend 150 million work days every year fetching and carrying water via @UN_Water #WaterforWomen
• Women in Hubli-Dharwad in India have to wait up to 10 days for water via @UN_Water #WaterforWomen @nextdrop has a solution.
• Why #climatechange is a women’s rights issue? http://bit.ly/1PwL9Yj 1/3
• Women constitute majority of world’s poor. More dependent for their livelihood on natural resources threatened by #climatechange. 2/3
• How can women help in climate change mitigation and adaption? Can we use their unique knowledge on local ecosystems? 3/3

Role of media in women empowerment

• The False Mirror: Representation of Women in Indian Advertising http://bit.ly/1KdEY4b
• Are Men The Latest Victims Of Media Misrepresentation? http://onforb.es/1hLHPKY
• Share with us the advertisement that you have seen has been designed to deceive people and how.
• Pro-women Twitter activism, another media influencing the gender equation http://onforb.es/1PwM4I8 #leanin #changetheratio #girlsrising #womenshould #bringourgirlsback #wearesilent Add some more?
• Pro-men Twitter activism  #YesAllMen #NotAllMen #stopmensabuse Add some more?
• Here’s one more: #ILookLikeAnEngineer ‘I Look Like an Engineer’ Campaign Is Hitting the Highway in Silicon Valley http://bit.ly/1MHiSNP
• Women professionals r under-represented in news or stereotypically portrayed whn they r included. Do u agree? http://bit.ly/1MHg7Mk
• “In the fight 4 TV Rating Points we r losing out on constructive debates and awareness programmes tht TV can offer.” http://bit.ly/1MHgzu7 ½
• What kind of constructive debates and awareness programmes do you think the TV can offer? 2/2
• How do you define feminism? What does it mean to be a feminist? What does this label stand for? How does #TheFWord appear in media
• The “F” Word: How the Media Frame Feminism  http://bit.ly/1MHh4Eq #TheFWord ⅔
• #HatchKids Learn About the F-Word from Lady Gaga, Amy Schumer, and President Obama http://bit.ly/1GKcdfm #TheFWord 3/3
• Recent series of videos – Living in a Man’s World. Putting women in men’s shoes and vice versa. http://bit.ly/1hLJdxm
• 10 Popular Bollywood Songs That Are Highly Gender-Discriminating http://bit.ly/1RirrOn

Comedy, feminism, women’s safety – Tuesday

• Importance of Stand Up Comedy http://bit.ly/1MHlVFK ½
• ‘Stand up comedy is 1 of d most powerful tools 2 educate, heal, incite, n make people ponder about ideas n things beyond themselves’ 2/2
• EIC: Sex Education in India http://bit.ly/1Ke1Lgi
• What do you think about sex education in India? 2/2
• Bill Maher vs Feminism http://bit.ly/1MHkEhQ Do you share the same view as Bill Maher?
• Bill Burr on Feminism & Sexist Irony http://bit.ly/1GK4JZO Do you share the same view as Bill Burr?
• Richard Dawkins is not a stand up comedian but hear him share a feminist literature. http://bit.ly/1GK6Vk1 What do you think leads to such literature?
• Dave Chapelle – Men and Women Psychology http://bit.ly/1MHskAL Do you share the same view as Dave Chapelle?
• Women: Know Your Limits! Harry Enfield – BBC comedy http://bit.ly/1MHvcgU Share your favorite sarcasm piece.
• Aziz Ansari embraces feminism on the Late Show with David Letterman. http://slate.me/1MHvqEX
• Vasundhara – Is Shaadi A License To Rape In India?? http://bit.ly/1KdHSWH How can we avoid marital rape?
• Louis CK ‘There is no greater threat to women than men’ http://bit.ly/1QCmtvG Do you share the same view as Louis?
• Using a cartoon and humor to fight violence against women http://bit.ly/1QCrGni Share your favorite cartoon that conveys this message.

Violence against men and women

• 309,546 crimes against women in India were reported in 2013, including 33,707 rapes and 51,881 cases of kidnapping and abduction. http://bit.ly/1QCrUe4
• An estimated 3 crore men are facing domestic violence in India http://bit.ly/1QCr8xQ
• Sex education in schools should be banned, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said last year. What do you think?
• A rigorous report, has provided support for the argument that mass incarceration does not reduce crime in the U.S. http://bit.ly/1W2HIIC
• The first Vipassana course in an Indian prison were conducted at the Central Jail, Jaipur,at the invitation of Mr. Ram Singh http://www.prison.dhamma.org/tihar.htm http://www.politics.as.nyu.edu/docs/IO/5628/Gonzalez.pdf http://eml.berkeley.edu/~moretti/lm46.pdf
• Parents Explain The Birds and the Bees  http://bit.ly/1Ke2i1H Parents, please share your experiences.
• Sex ed for adults – A Playlist | TED.com http://bit.ly/1KdYePf
• Can training women in the community as changemakers on the issue of violence against men help? #vambam
• The Supreme Court restrained police on mechanically arresting the husband and relatives when the wife files a case under the anti-dowry law. http://bit.ly/1QCosQG #vambam
• How can we deal with the patriarchal thinking that “Mardko Dard nahihota” (Men do not feel pain)? #vambam
• Can training men in the community as changemakers on the issue of violence against women help? http://bit.ly/1QCtEEf

Women in waste management

• Handling waste poses many health risks. Informal waste pickers are exposed to contaminants and hazardous materials. http://bit.ly/1ReyYO2
• Gender-sensitive approach, gender equity, empowerment of women are critical in the support of new initiatives. http://bit.ly/1Rez4Ft
• Both men n women waste workers face disrespect of fellow-citizens, as handling untreated waste is considered demeaning. Let’s change that.
• Women are widely active in waste picking, micro-enterprise seem to be more often initiated, operated, managed by men http://bit.ly/1Rez4Ft 1/4
• All-women’s enterprises or cooperatives such as the Stree Mukti Sanghatana are changing this. 2/4
• Stree Mukti Sanghatana with the help of @bmcmumbai address the problems of waste and of self-employed women involved http://bit.ly/1Rexaoe 3/4
• #ShaadiCares partners with Stree Mukti Sanghatana to setup a Women’s Rehab Centre (Mumbai). http://bit.ly/1RewL57 4/4
• SWaCH, Pune is India’s first wholly-owned cooperative of self-employed waste pickers and other urban poor. http://bit.ly/1ReynMs
• 85-year-old woman inspires neighbours to work on waste management http://bit.ly/1RexLqb Do you have such people around you? Pls share.
• 14-year-old girls code app that cleans up India’s streets http://on.wsj.com/1RexTpE
• Women Entrepreneurs Help Pilot India’s First Citywide Recycling Program http://bit.ly/1RexX8S
• Equal opportunities for women in waste management industry http://bit.ly/1MHfBy8

Twitter chat on #SaferCities for female tourists/commuters

QA: To start the #Tweetchat, what’s ur self defense tool against physical abuse while travelling? chilli powder, nail filers? Has it worked? #SaferCities #VAW #PublicSafety

QB: As opposed to defense, what preventive measures have you taken to keep yourself safe? #SaferCities

QC: Do you use any app to keep yourself safe? Which one is it? #SaferCities

QD: What would be your suggestion to the Indian govt to make the India’s 100 Smart Cities safe? #SaferCities

QE: What are your ‘do’s and don’ts’ for foreign women travelling to India? #SaferCities

QF: If any foreign women tourist is reading us, please tell us why would you hesitate to travel to India. #SaferCities

QG: To wrap up, what’s your one tip/head’s up that you’d give to someone who wants to learn to keep herself safe? #SaferCities

To see the entire Tweet chat click here.

• India plans to distribute the advice to visitors in a list of “do’s and don’ts,” http://bloom.bg/1KdLrfz
• The government of UK already has some http://bit.ly/1KdKx2M
• At the ITB Indian officials address womens′ travel safety concerns http://bit.ly/1KdNccB
• Meet Mariellen Ward, a Canadian travel writer and longtime advocate for solo female travel http://bit.ly/1KdMiNt
• Why go to India? One reason: No country will fascinate and frustrate you more. – Candace, a tourist http://bit.ly/1KdKT9v
• Incredible India Helpline for tourists 1800111363, 1363 http://bit.ly/1KdSW6c http://bit.ly/1KdTbhD

Technology, science and education

• India could add 60% to 2025 GDP by bridging gender gap at work: McKinsey http://bit.ly/1KdYIoz
• India has the highest difference between women and men on the average minutes spent per day on unpaid work—a difference of 300 minutes. Why? http://bit.ly/1KdZ0M2
• India has one of the lowest percentages of firms with female participation in ownership. Why? http://bit.ly/1KdZ0M2
• What can India do about this? Is teaching girls to code enough? http://bit.ly/1KdUYDr #stemwomen
• What do you think are the reasons behind the gender gap in tech, engineering, and math? http://read.bi/1KdZHVB
• What advice would you give your younger self? #DearMe http://bit.ly/1KdVlOg #womenintech
• Hear from women and girls about how their passion for science and technology first developed and those who were overlooked. http://bit.ly/1KdWpSa #BeTheSpark ½
• Tell us what got you into science and technology and how has it helped you live a better life #BeTheSpark 2/3
• Meet cybersecurity expert Keren Elazari. http://bit.ly/1KdWN38 1/2
• I never knew there’s something like that that I could do. What is it that you wished you knew about careers in science and tech? 2/2
• Drugs and pollution can be biased to gender. Check out the tweets that follow to find out how. 1/3
• Alyson McGregor: Why medicine often has dangerous side effects for women ⅔ http://bit.ly/1KdX6ei
• The Disappearing Male is about the toxic threat to the male reproductive system. 3/3 http://bit.ly/1KdXx8v