Campaign for women safety

Team L&M

This Republic Day, let us join CNN-News18 as it campaigns for women safety through its unique campaign #RepublicForWomen. Why? Because no matter which city we live, women safety has always been a serious concern in India. Bengaluru’s New Year Eve celebrations saw a shameful display of sexual violence.

In this campaign, the channel embarked on an unusual social experiment by sending a team of journalists and volunteers undercover on the streets of major cities like Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Mumbai. Armed with cameras, the female reporters and volunteers decided to capture on tape a day in their life. While five Bengaluru girls volunteered and went to different parts of the city, CNN-News18’s reporters traversed through the streets of Delhi, Gurgaon, and Noida.  At any given time, an adequate number of the channel’s crew was undercover to avert any untoward incident. Throughout the day what was captured on the camera was almost one would expect.

In Bengaluru, most of the volunteers could be seen visibly uncomfortable with the surroundings. While catcalls were a normal occurrence, men staring at women for a long duration just captured the reality on India’s roads. In Delhi NCR, the team decided to carry out most of these operations after sundown. While things largely went smooth, the team in Delhi encountered an unruly man trying to misbehave with one of the reporters. He followed the journalist for over half an hour and then continued to ask for her number even after being asked to leave. All this drama was captured live on camera. Instances like these, showcase that no matter what city you live in, women continue to glance over their shoulders checking for danger, especially at night.