I, despite being a staunch feminist, was very much part of the problem. All the while that I’d been blaming others for alienating women in public spaces, I’d made sure I made myself invisible every time I stepped out of the house. I’d stopped taking buses and local trains a long time ago. My excuses ranged from “It’s too hot” to “It’s too polluted” to “I’m running late” to “People sweat too much in a bus”. I’d stopped wearing sleeveless clothes so as to not stand out on Chennai roads. A quick visit to the mom and pop store around the corner would see me kick-starting my bike. Even when I walked, it was never a walk. It was always a stride. With purpose. In one direction. Fast.Refusing to perpetuate and give in to the same fear and alienation that haunts most Indian women, I chose the beach as my place of penitence. For the first time ever, I started running to repent and to reclaim. On the first day, it was unsettling but for every person who looked my way, I’d tell myself, “This space, the beach, the breeze, the right to be is as much yours as it’s theirs.” I stopped hunching my shoulders. I stopped making myself smaller. I started taking full breaths. My chest rising and falling with every step I took. It was a liberation I had never felt before. As I ran, people watched. I never made eye contact. As the days went by, people still watched as I ran. But I smiled.I ran for myself and the lady shyly jogging on the other side of the track. I ran because I have every right to. I also ran for a future where my daughter never has to feel like she doesn’t belong. I ran for a playground that will have both girls and boys kicking up dust. I ran for a time when girls can walk down roads whenever they want, wherever they want, wearing whatever they want. And, I will continue to run till that day comes. It’s one of the many small, only seemingly inconsequential things I can do till the day no woman feels the need to write an article like this. Till then I will run. And, you can watch. Or…

Source: I Was Sick Of Not Seeing Women Running Outdoors Till It Hit Me I Was Part Of The Problem – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger