We don't see enough women in public spaces

"But, is it safe for me to be there?" — a question you might've heard your female friends, colleagues, or yourself ask all too often. From finding the closest washroom to wondering if a late-night cab ride is worth a concert, something as basic as having fun comes with baggage and sometimes guilt.

If we think about it, the story of women being (kept) away from public spaces began centuries ago. The greatest of the cities and civilisations weren't designed for us, resulting in more isolation and apprehension to step out.

In 2022, two researchers at LSE Cities, Dr Julia King and Olivia Theocharides-Feldman, floated a peer research program, the Researcher-In-Residence program, in collaboration with Make Space for Girls. The program aimed to determine if women are designed out of public spaces.

LSE reported, "The programme ran as a seven-week paid learning and working experience with nine 17 to 21-year-old individuals who identified as girls and young women. It put forward a novel way of conducting peer research: Zoom and Miro (an online whiteboard) were used to run weekly discussion sessions, upload lectures, podcasts, and readings; the researchers-in-residence used Instagram to chronicle their self-led weekly site visits, and two in-person guided visits and mapping exercises were run with the researchers-in-residence in their local areas."

When spaces, whether workplaces, public transport, or shared areas, aren't inclusive, forgoing your outdoor hobbies becomes a habit. "I can live without doing these things", you almost convince yourself.

Sneha Ganapavarapu, a podcaster and lawyer-turned-project-manager from Edinburgh, says, "The lack of inclusive public spaces is one of my primary reasons for leaving India. When I moved to Edinburgh, it was all new to me because it's so easy to go for a walk, to a pool or swim in the ocean without the fear of being stared at. It's not like I don't get stared at; at the end of the day, I'm a brown woman in a white country, but it's harmless as opposed to the experiences I've had as someone who grew up as a swimmer in India. I was often the only woman at a 6 am or 7 am swimming class in India. This is why fitness centres host 'ladies-only' sessions, which I've not seen here in abundance."

I asked Manya Kotian, a creator and content specialist living in Bombay, how safe she feels in her city and she rated 7/10. But her mother or friends do track her Uber rides. She says, "I do feel safe in Bangalore, but my female friends who take on-demand bikes say otherwise. They've told me the bike drivers hit the brakes on purpose or ask you to remove the bags my friends would place in between them. I'm never taking those rides because I don't know if anyone will come for rescue if you hit an emergency button."

Dressing a certain way

If what you wear defines your state of mind, dressing down to blend in and not look different defines fear. Sneha adds, "In India, I'd purposefully dress down to avoid being stared at. But even when I do and go to parties, I’d to rush to get into the car if I were travelling alone."

Manya resonates with this and says, "Yeah, I'd be out in a flash to avoid stares or judgment from people. Or you'll find me wearing a scarf to hide my face. Even if I'm comfortable in my skin, I'm not comfortable in my environment."

Women across the globe have faced some form of harassment for dressing — and harassers either call the dressing too secular or religious. In short, men have attacked women for going about their lives. 

Read this report by Pew Research for more.

A glimpse of a study conducted by Statista in Singapore 👆

The report states, "According to a survey on sexual harassment conducted in Singapore in June 2019, 58 per cent of female respondents stated that they would dress in a certain way as a precaution against sexual harassment."

Is the fear of judgment stopping us from occupying public spaces?

Perhaps. 

There is a straightforward answer to this, I’m afraid! 

Priyanka Peeramsetty, a Chief of Staff, says in our conversation, "My partner's aunt walks in a park in a tier-3 town with her husband, and she gets looks and comments from bystanders for wearing track pants and t-shirts. You need a lot of bandwidth and courage to fight these things; understandably, not everyone has the energy for this."

While safety is a woman's top priority, battling judgment comes right after. Why should taking a walk or simple solitary pursuits seem overwhelming?

Georgina Hickey, a history professor and affiliate faculty in the Women & Gender Studies program, published a research piece, From Civility to Self-Defence: Modern Advice to Women on the Privileges and Dangers of Public Space. In which she shares an excerpt from a 1913 manual 👇

Women were to show "quiet reserve," as believed fitting for their sex, "but not haughty reserve" when in public. Loud clothing and unruly behavior received the strictest condemnation, but also to be avoided were "costumes" and conventions that were in any way out of the ordinary. In instructing women to follow the style of the early 1930s, for example, Good Manners explained, "A hatless girl is more conspicuous than one properly hatted" (McLean 1934, 100). One was not to look out of the ordinary for one's surroundings or station in life, lest one call undue attention to oneself. Similarly, women were told not to walk arm in arm, laugh too loudly, snack, spit, or smoke when in public. Staring, talking to strangers, and "lolling and lounging" also made it onto the forbidden list, not so much out of notions of their potential danger to women's reputations or bodies, but because they demanded that those around them then pay attention to the women.

To be honest, nothing much has changed. 🤷🏻‍♀️

We tout women who travel alone as heroes. "Oh, you've done the unimaginable! Was it transformative enough?" while also asking women to stay home. Let's not mince words—we've all asked our younger sisters or close ones to think twice before taking a solo trip. I have, although I've taken one; the desire to be free and see more women around us exists. But can you indeed be free without worrying about your safety? 

The question still remains.

Essential reads

• In Pursuit of Idleness | Women in Public Spaces by Architecture Live

• Creating Engagement in Public Spaces for Safer Cities for Women by UN-Habitat

• Are Girls Being Designed Out of Public Spaces by The London School of Economics

• Where Are the Women by Sanjukta Basu

• How to Design a City for Women by Bloomberg

• Q&A with Breaking the Gender Code author Georgina Hickey on Public Spaces, Women, and Advocacy