Despite progress in gender equality, women still face stark disparities in how they experience public spaces. While men often move freely—walking, cycling, or travelling without second thought—women must constantly weigh concerns about safety, convenience, and appearance. Recent reports from India and around the world underscore the urgency of the issue, with ongoing incidents of harassment, assault, and inadequate institutional responses making headlines. These are not isolated events; they reflect a broader, global reality where women’s safety remains compromised in cities, workplaces, and transit systems alike.
Exploring public spaces isn’t just a matter of safety for women—it’s also about visibility, representation, and belonging. Physical spaces reflect who is valued in society, and women are often missing from that landscape. “Just walk around any city or town, and you will see that few memorialise women, in the naming of public spaces like streets, in the many statues scattered around,” says Koel Pandey, an advertising professional based in Kolkata. “Women have been overlooked and completely underrepresented in the naming of places. Naming places and streets after significant persons is a way to show the social rank and hierarchy in our lives and spaces.”
This glaring discrepancy is highlighted in studies conducted by various global organisations. The European Data Journalism Network (EDJNet), a coalition of media outlets across Europe producing data-driven reports, analysed 145,933 streets in 30 major European cities. The findings were startling: on average, 91 percent of streets are named after men. Even in Stockholm, the city with the smallest gender gap, over 80 percent of streets still bear the names of men.
Similarly, Mapbox, a US-based provider of custom maps, created an interactive map that highlights the scarcity of streets named after women in major cities around the world. The company analysed seven cities—London, Paris, San Francisco, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore—and found that, on average, only 27.5 percent of the streets surveyed were named after women. These statistics stand in stark contrast to the growing number of travel companies that bring together women seeking to travel and explore new places.
"While women have made significant progress in gaining freedom and access to public spaces, there is still a vast gap between their lived realities and the media narratives about women breaking all barriers," says Mrinalini Roy, a freelance new media writer in her twenties based in Mumbai, who has experienced multiple instances of street harassment in the 'Maximum City'.
Across India, several women-led organisations are actively working to spotlight stories of women navigating space and boundaries—examining who has access to which spaces, under what limitations, and the reasons behind those restrictions.
Jasmeen Patheja, founder and director of Blank Noise, an organisation devoted to social change, reflects on the deeper meaning of exploration: “The word 'explorer' implies an exploration of the unknown,” she explains. “It involves discovering both place and self. We must rely on newer narratives that trust in our right to be explorers—and recognise the difference in how men and women experience travel.”
Blank Noise’s ongoing interviews with women across India reveal a telling pattern. Most admit they rarely venture out alone for pleasure. “There is always a purpose to ‘going somewhere,’” Patheja says. “The idea of being an explorer, a wanderer, and to claim that as a woman, is a growing idea.”
To shift these narratives, Blank Noise has launched powerful public projects such as I Never Ask For It, which combines garments and audio testimonies to expose the harsh realities of victim-blaming and fear that women face daily. “This project raises questions about the right to be defenceless,” Patheja says. “We are done defending because for too long we have carried the burden of preparedness.”
Across India and beyond, a quiet revolution is reshaping how women relate to public spaces. Movements and projects driven by women are challenging societal norms and reclaiming the city streets in powerful, creative ways. One such initiative, the Why Loiter movement, encourages women to intentionally “loiter” — to linger, wander, and claim presence without purpose or permission. Women share their moments on Twitter using the hashtag #WhyLoiter, turning an everyday act into a bold statement of ownership. As Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan, and Shilpa Ranade write in their book Why Loiter?, “Loitering is a non-normative activity. It is a way of asserting presence, of saying we are here, this is our space as much as it is anyone else’s.”
Another inspiring effort is the Women Walk at Midnight project, a unique cross-city dialogue where women explore urban spaces late at night across cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Faridabad, Guwahati, and even Cape Town. This project creates a shared narrative of courage and curiosity, inviting women to navigate the city on their own terms when darkness usually means exclusion.
Adding an artistic dimension to this movement is the Fearless Collective, founded by artist Shilo Shiv Suleman in 2012. Through public art interventions, Fearless Collective partners with women and marginalized communities worldwide to transform spaces of fear and silence into vibrant canvases of empowerment. “It’s high time that women go out on the streets and reclaim their public space and represent their own stories fearlessly,” says Suleman. She envisions more female artists in the streets, sparking social justice conversations and turning urban corners once marked by trauma into expressions of beauty and resilience.
These collective efforts represent a significant shift—women are no longer just passive participants in the city but active authors of its evolving story. Through their presence, dialogue, and artistic expression, they are reshaping urban spaces into environments that celebrate diversity, safety, and freedom.
As these initiatives gain momentum, they light the way toward more inclusive cities, where women’s footsteps leave meaningful marks not only on the streets but also on society’s broader consciousness. Ultimately, reclaiming public space is about reclaiming the fundamental right to be seen, heard, and valued. This transformation promises a future where urban life reflects and respects the experiences and contributions of all its inhabitants.