A Pink Chaddi poster

Trouble-mongers beware! The Pink Chaddi brigade is here. Supporters of the virtual community formed after Sri Ram Sena’s attack on women in a Mangalore pub will host the first Pink Chaddi event in the city on the occasion of Women’s Day.

Elaan, an NGO that fights child sexual abuse, has brought the movement to the east. “We haven’t opened a Pink Chaddi unit in Calcutta. We are aligning with the cause of empowerment and sending a message of solidarity to the survivors of the recent pub attacks,” says Pranaadhika Sinha of Elaan.

On Sunday and Monday, Pink Chaddi supporters will visit bookstores, schools, colleges and pubs to ask people to join the fight against sexual harassment.

“We will present these people with a safety charter and ask them for permission to organise interventions for staff members and students. We will also approach the police commissioner and suggest ways to handle eve-teasing cases better,” added Sinha. The team’s short-term goals are mobilisation and sensitisation. In the long run, it aims to create safer streets for women and a sensitised intervention system.