JINHA

NEWS CENTER - Women have started an action to reclaim dhabas (tea houses) under the power of patriarchy in India and Pakistan. The women gave gotten support from around the world.

In Pakistan, Sadia Khatri and Natasha Ansari have started a social media action with the hashtag #girlsatdhabas. A dhaba is a roadside place for selling food and drink in India and Pakistan. Generally, it is men who go there. Sadia and Natasha want to reclaim this public space for women.

Sadia and Natasha said that women should feel safe and welcomed in the streets. They are announcing this struggle by selfies that they take in dhabas. Men also take selfies with them to show their support. Sadia and Natasha collect the photos that they have received in their Tumblr account as people from all over the world support their movement. Sadia mentioned that their main goal in starting this movement was to make local places safer for women. “There are a lot of places under the power of patriarchy like dhabas. Women’s usage rate of these places is very low,” she said.

Sadia talked about how women should be more visible in the streets. “Access to public spaces is restricted by gender and class. One of the movement's main purposes is that women be more visible in public spaces and the streets,” she said. “We want to see more women in the streets, where people think women haven’t been traditionally. Social media helps us to spread our movement to reclaim public spaces.”

For the founders of Girls At Dhabas, one of the main goals is to increase and spread the feminist movement for their freedom. They said that their next act will be to open stalls for food and drink for women and minorities. They are also founding women's groups for motorcycling and cricket, which people think of as hobbies for men in Pakistan.

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