“We are not putting these garments on ‘display’, we are bringing them together in solidarity’ “ - Jasmeen Patheja
#INeverAskForIt 2020

Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi, singers Sona Mohapatra, Ankur Tewari, and journalist Barkha Dutt were among the hundreds of people who expressed solidarity to end victim-blaming and shaming in crimes against women, as part of the social media campaign #INeverAskForIt.

“We envision 10,000 garments standing united at India Gate, knowing fully that it calls for being monumental,” - Jasmeen Patheja

“We want the building of this mission to be a process of healing; where survivors of violence feel heard and believed. The opposite of being blamed is being believed. The opposite of blaming is taking collective responsibility. We want the #INeverAskForIt mission to meet both these futures,” Jasmeen Patheja

“In 2004, we used to ask people if they have ever experienced harassment, and the reactions were largely of denial or anger. The ones who got angry at the question, I realised later, had internalised the demarcation that good girls don’t experience h...

Out of the few who were willing to share, she says, most women spoke about the clothes they were wearing. “It is here that the ‘I never asked for it’ campaign found seed. They always recalled what they wore. School uniforms to salwar kameez and burqa. ” - Jasmeen Patheja

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/metrolife-on-the-move/bluru-ngo-wants-to-end-victim-blaming-920771.html

“Advocacy group Blank Noise started the INeverAskForIt campaign which has become part of a nationwide conversation about harassment.” -Hindustan Times

“Garments help people see it as it was and realise that it doesn’t matter what you are wearing when you are harassed or abused.”
-Eeshita Kapadia (Action Shero, Blank Noise)

* The image source published on this article does not belong to Blank Noise.

"We found women often wondering about their garments. They'd say, 'I was wearing that red skirt', or 'I was wearing that pair of jeans,' or 'I was wearing that school uniform.' So it became a deliberate question at Blank Noise and we began asking, so what were you wearing .”

And this does make women wonder. They wonder whether they actually asked for it. And the answer is always no. What women need to understand is that their clothes have got nothing to do with assault.” - Jasmeen Patheja

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2014/jan/16/Were-You-Asking-to-be-Eve-teased-in-That-Dress-564641.html

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2014/jan/16/Were-You-Asking-to-be-Eve-teased-in-That-Dress-564641.html