So proud of the women on the streets of India tonight
And to men in solidarity, you are the ones standing
Between me and wondering what if the whole world
Is one Ivy League Group Chat
Where everyone is either vulture or voyeur
Or keyboard warrior

When the news came from India about the protests against rape culture in the same week that we heard about the Cornell group chat of men inviting one another to partake in rape culture and / or actual rape, the voices on the streets gave me precious hope.

The slogan “Ek Kachodi Do Samosa, In Mardon ka Kya Bharosa?” was particularly apt and energizing for me in what otherwise is a miserably exhausting issue to deal with, talk about, think about…. that is sexual assault, rape culture, restrictions on women in response to bad behavior of men. The first part of the slogan just means “One kachodi, two samosas” where kachodi and samosa are popular street food / snack items. While the main function of this line is the rhythm and rhyme with the second line, it also serves to highlight how absolutely ordinary, everyday and commonplace is this issue and it will not be resolved by closing off access to public spaces as the way to improve safety. This was the response of Delhi officials after a rape in a public park last week and the response of one of the universities after a similar incident was to move classes online.

The second line of the slogan means “How can we trust these men?”

Pre-empting the loud voices that tried to deride this slogan as anti-men or trot out the #NotAllMen sentiment, many men themselves posted on social media saying they aren’t in favor of the prevailing modes of masculinity either and are not only ready but eager to bring about the fall of patriarchy. Furthermore they said, since we are not “those men” why should the slogan offend us?

And for men who believe they are “those men” who can’t be trusted, it is not too late to change!

Just for fun I thought up a bunch more ways to shout this slogan. The issue is quite personal for me because the traditional slogans like “ख़ामोशी तोड़ो  सच बोलो ” (Break the Silence) and ” పగలు మాదే ! రాత్రి మాదే!” (The night is ours, the day is ours – similar to “take back the night”) and “Y la culpa no era mía” (It was not my fault) and “La honte doit changer de camp” (shame must change sides) just involve so much thinking about complicated concepts of shame and fault and truth and asking myself if I am actually doing my part to break the silence or take back the night. Or am I seeking safety by making myself less loud, less vulnerable etc.

But this new set of slogans coming out of India are so refreshing in the way they make it clear that it is simple.

So here are my variations for your chanting pleasure:

Roses are red, violets are blue
Espera un momento: Azul es violeta, rojo es rosa
In mardon ka kya bharosa!

What about down south?
Vada sambar idli dosa!
In mardon ka kya bharosa!

What about evergreen lovers?
Bristlecone or Ponderosa
In mardon ka kya bharosa!

What about fans of the Gold Rush? 
From El Dorado to Mariposa
In mardon ka kya bharosa!

What if it’s 5:00 somewhere? 
One sangria, Two Mimosa!
In mardon ka kya bharosa!

ya no importa Cualquier cosa

In mardon ka kya bharosa!