Yes, I joined the Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women

If you haven't been following the Indian news lately, see this : The Consortium of Pub-going, Loose & Forward Women a group of women has started the Pink Chaddi campaign to protest against some activists who assaulted some innocent women enjoying themselves at a Mangalore pub.

These are my thoughts on it -

Yes, I joined the Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women
No, I don't drink
Yes, I still joined it
No, I don't intend to start drinking
Yes, I'm fighting for women's rights
No, I'm not a feminist
Yes, I believe its OK to think for yourself, experiment & then decide what you want to do with your life
No, I don't think anyone - father, brother, husband or even mother, sister - should decide how I lead my life

Yes, its okay for girls to have fun
Yes, its okay to go for a movie
Yes, its okay for girls to have friends who incidentally are men
No, it doesn't mean they are sluts
Yes, its okay for women to go to a pub
No, Men in dance bars is not different
Yes, its okay to marry who you like and love
No, its not okay for you to marry people just because they went to a pub together

Yes, I feel the Valentine day is just too commercial
No, I don't go around hitting people

Yes, I wear skirts, jeans and t-shirts
No, I'm not out to titillate you
Yes, i proudly wear sarees & salwar kameezes too
No, I don't feel safe from harassment just because I'm in a salwar kameez
Yes, I know its not traditional Indian culture to wear spaghetti straps
No, I also know its not traditional Indian culture to hit women
Yes, sometimes I too feel, we're losing our unique "Indian-ness"
No, our "Indian-ness" doesn't lie in threatening people who think differently

Yes, you are not the sole guardian of Hindu culture.
No, you're right, neither am I! Neither you nor I can singularly decide what Indian culture is
Yes, I know you are a Hindu
No, I'm not anti-Hindu

Yes, I'm worried
No, its not about you
Yes, its about my country
No, I'm not comfortable about the direction my country is moving in
Yes, I worry about it for my kids
No, I don't want them to grow up like you
Yes, I want a society where women can think for themselves. Hell, even men should be able to think for themselves
No, no one appreciates you taking up the responsibility of thinking for others, telling them what they can or can't do

Yes, our society is in transition
No, it isn't the only one.

Yes, drinking in pubs is a western phenomenon
No, drinking at pubs doesn't mean I'm aping the west
Yes, in the olden days pubs were called "kothas"
No, in the olden days women didn't go to them - they stayed at home
Yes, in the olden days schools were called "pathshalas"
No, in the olden days, girls didn't go to them - they stayed at home
Yes, in the olden days men were the ones who went out for "kaam"
No, in the olden days, women didn't go out - they stayed at home
Yes, now the women do - they go out - they study, they work, and if they pub - that doesn't make them prostitutes
No, we definitely don't live in the olden days anymore

Yes, some things are better now
Yes, some things are worse now
Realize, some things are different now

Yes, I think you're after publicity
No, I can't dismiss this as a cheap stunt

Yes, I'm a woman
Yes, I'm Indian
Yes, I'm modern
Yes, I'm also traditional
Yes, I will protest when you treat women shabbily
Yes, you are being a bully
Yes, I feel you are a threat to a peaceful society
Yes, participation in the Pink Chaddi campaign is my silly, irreverent way of protesting against your more sinister way of life