How women’s rights must become part of a wider struggle for a more equal India

So it arrives, feminist realism piercing this season of euphoric dissent. No matter how long and for what reason women take to the streets, patriarchy will refuse to give up even its evening stroll in the park. Men seeking to hold power to account say that we mustn’t confuse issues by bringing the matter of women’s safety to protests of national importance. We get it: violence against women isn’t India’s highest priority today.

But it is a fundamental faultline in every battle over every high priority. Men and women seeking India’s social transformation must both know this and act accordingly. We see each other most clearly in moments of struggle. The young people bonding over mutual aid and memes in the student protests this July represent the possibility of powerful alliances across gender and sexuality. It is time to mobilise and speak up for each other’s causes.