‘Girls Night Out’ in Kerala to encourage women to step out after dark
Food stalls, festive lighting, live music performance, zumba dance and training and a women’s marathon were some of the many activities organised as part of the four-day long ‘Girls Night Out’ campaign that was launched in Muvattupuzha here to encourage the fairer sex to step out after dark and create a nightlife in the town.
Besides inspiring confidence in women to enjoy the night life, the initiative of Muvattupuzha MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan also aims to develop the streets of this town in Ernakulam district into a more lively version of itself.
As the campaign reached its last day on Sunday, the MLA, in a Facebook post, said the campaign was receiving an “extraordinary response”.
“Girls Night Out is receiving an extraordinary response. Many people and prominent personalities, including women, from the constituency and other places called to congratulate and express their support.
“This shows that the people of Kerala want a nightlife that women can also be a part of. The 4-day programme concludes today. Hope everyone who can will come. Thank you very much for your support and cooperation,” he said in his post.
Earlier, this town saw every one calling it a day by 8-8.30 PM, the streets would be dark and for those returning late from work, there was nothing to do except remain indoors.
To change all this and to show women that they can step out into the streets late in the night without having to worry about their safety, the ‘Girls Night Out’ initiative was initially implemented in half-a-kilometre stretch of the M C Road, an arterial State highway which connects several towns from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam in Kerala,
a source in Kuzhalnadan’s office said.
Not only the girls and young women, who came out in hundreds to enjoy what the campaign offered, but also their parents welcomed the initiative and were happy about it.
One mother told a TV channel that girls or women should also be able to go out after dark, be it to hang out with friends or for work.
“Often we cannot choose our work timings,” the parent said.
Besides the food stalls, live music performances, zumba dances and training and a women’s marathon on various days of the campaign, there was also a talk show held on the first day — October 6 — when women spoke about the problems they face like lack of public toilet facilities and pros and cons of private bus operations, the source said.
On the third day of the festivities, Saturday, the turnout was more than what was expected and as a result there was shortage of food at the stalls and eateries set up at the site much before 11.30 PM, the source said.
“Keeping that in mind we have made preparations accordingly for Sunday,” he said.
Each day the festivities run from 5.30 PM to 11.30 PM, he added.
Apart from these programmes, students of St. Augustine’s Girls HSS also organised a fundraiser for one of their classmates whose father is ill by setting up a food stall and organising a music night on the last two days of the campaign.
Encouraging this initiative, Kuzhalnadan had said in a Facebook post — “Don’t think that nightlife is only for boys. These smart girls from St. Augustine’s School are preparing to say out loud that it belongs to us too. I am with them.” The students of the school had told a TV channel that they wanted to show that a girls night out can be safe for women.
“That is our intention. No one should stay away from what they want to do just because it is night. Girls and women may have all the rights, but they all do not have the confidence to go out at night. Our motive is to change that,” the students said.
Kuzhalnadan told the channel that the campaign would demonstrate the capabilities of girls and women.
“They are not to be caged. When we discourage young people from night life in the belief that its something wrong, they move towards use of drugs and intoxicants behind closed doors to get some excitement in life. So let’s open up a bit. Let’s be a bit liberal. We want all of Kerala to be like this,” he said.
