Slut Walk, a fresh feminist movement that originated from Toronto Canada in April this year, and had been taking rounds of various western cities like, London, Melbourne, Brisbane, Montreal, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Hamilton, San Diego and Vancouver and few others, is now coming to New Delhi, the Indian capital. Scheduled for late July Delhi will be the first Asian city to hold a slut walk. In India this has been a season of protests and campaigns with two colossal figures, spiritual leader Baba Ramdev and Gandhian Anna Hazare both going onto fasting persuading the Government of India to take actions against corruption and other such rots in the system. Hundreds protest in Canada against a Toronto Police Officer who claimed "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized." Image by Natalie A., copyright Demotix (03/04/11). The mainstream media in India plays a huge role in making or breaking these campaigns, and the Slut Walk seems to be their current favorite. Several news and views have been floated all across the mainstream media. Almost every major newspaper or magazine have carried a related story. The bloggers community however has not been so vocal about the movement. From the random buzz one hears on the social media one would imagine Slut Walk Delhi is the most important topic that citizens are talking about. Most of the buzz is created by sharing, forwarding, retweeting and liking the content created by mainstream media. On Youth Ki Awaz, a collaborative youth blog, Alam Bains wrote in support of the movement: The Slut Walk is a good initiative and is addressing an important issue but what is required to make movements like these successful is sensitizing the society. Women should be respected and so should their rights to live their life the way they want. Vidyut at Aam Janata has been writing consistently on the topic. In her first post on the topic she said she had been waiting for the movement to come to India: We need a slutwalk to happen in every city, town, village and locality. We need a slutwalk happen each time a woman steps out on the street. It is going to be a long journey to change minds, to create that space for the dignity of being a person and expecting safety as a right. To getting people to realize that no matter how a woman dresses, she is a person, and she has a right to say “no”. In her following post Vidyut addressed the criticism against the naming of the movement, why call it ‘slut’ walk? “It is not just the word slut. It is an attitude.” She says and hopes that this movement will shame the attitude not the word. Chandni at Bohemian Rhapsody wrote that the reason some people are reacting negatively to the name of the movement is because they are thinking from a patriarchal mindset which believes women are devoid of sexuality. And yet, one of the first reactions is discomfort with the word slut. Why use that word for the protest? Why not, I ask you? Can’t you look past it? The women first – Is it embarrassing? Uncomfortable? Derogatory? Would you be more comfortable holding your head high and walking in this protest if it were called “Nari mukti morcha” or “women against rape” or something? Say the word. Slut. Think about it. Why does it make you squirm? And the men – Is it amusing? Inviting? Does it bring forth visions of promiscuous women dying to get laid, lining up for your viewing pleasure? The ultimate fantasy, eh? Womens’ sexuality anyone? Oh, that doesn’t exist. That is exactly why it is a good thing. Reclaiming the word. Repeating again and again “STOP BLAMING THE VICTIM AND HER CLOTHES”. It is as simple and as basic as that. At least 200 people participated in the Slut Walk Brazil, inspired by a protest in Canada in April, by women struggling against violence and the right to wear the kind of clothes they like. Sao Paulo, Brazil. Image by Andre M. Chang, copyright Demotix (04/06/11). In spite of being an instant hit amongst the young urban youth hundreds and thousands of who have shown their support by joining the event’s Facebook page or by tweeting or putting up status messages, the movement have been continuously facing criticism due to its name. I have written in my personal blog that the problem with the word slut is not because of the shame attached to it, but because of its lack of significance in the Indian context. ‘Slut’ – the word entered Indian people’s vocabulary through international movies and TV series as part of the cultural change that took place post the cable TV. To begin with the word is not in common use. [..] I believe ‘slut’ as an abuse is a recent entry and is mostly in use amongst the upper class English speaking urban youth.