Backed by the overwhelming response to the social campaign 'Ek Rediffmail Bhej Ke Tou Dekho' to fight against eve teasing, Bhumi and various other leading NGO's in association with rediff.com, will host a silent candle light vigil on the eve of Women's Day -- March 7 at 9 pm at Gateway of India, Mumbai.
The mass gathering supported by the Mumbai Sheriff Dr Indu Shahani, will be held to propagate the message to curb the growing issue of verbal and sexual assaults against woman in the city.
The gathering seeks the support from Mumbai citizens to contribute in the fight to curb sexual assault against woman. It also represents the physical conglomeration of the massive support of over 1.5 lakh Internet users, who have actively supported the campaign introduced by rediff.com in February.
The vigil is expected to attract over 500 likeminded people from all walks of life including leading social groups and prominent celebrities.
Confirming her participation for the event, Dr Shahani said, "Mumbai, a global city, has been known to be a safe city and it is important that we continue to keep that way and ensure the dignity of the women in the city. The incidents of assault on women including tourists reflect poorly on Mumbai and its citizens. So it is up to them to become alert and proactively give women the freedom and the respect they deserve."
Speaking about the initiative, Manish Agarwal, vice-president, marketing, rediff.com said, "The mass gathering at Gateway of India is a symbolic gesture of the opinion expressed by over 1.5 lakh users on fighteveteasing@rediffmail.com, and we invite all Mumbaikars to join us in this initiative to lend their support and contribute to further propagate the message."
Speaking about the joint initiative Dr Akalpita Paranjpe, representative of Bhumi, said, "We are delighted with the support we have got from Internet users and we strongly believe that each individual by turning up at the event will make a huge contribution."
Users can also log onto www.act.rediff.com to lend their support and join the fight against eve-teasing by simply casting their vote or by sending a mail to fighteveteasing@rediffmail.com. Woman users can also use the website to access details of the woman's e-Helpline call1298@rediffmail.com launched by the Sheriff of Mumbai to seek support from NGOs working to help women in distress.
The initiative is extension of rediff.com's commitment to mobilise Internet users to lend their support for the cause of open spaces and eve teasing.