Vedica Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to empowering urban women, has collaborated with Nori Narrative, a young women-led architecture and design firm, to launch the ‘City of Women’ campaign. The initiative aims to celebrate, encourage and extend women’s freedom to go anywhere anytime and change the negative narrative of Delhi-NCR being unsafe for women.
The ‘City of Women’ team curated a mural on the theme ‘Delhi-NCR as a City of Women’ for the Dwarka Sec-14 Metro Station in alignment with the International Women’s Day activities by DMRC. The powerful mural on women empowerment showcases women of different age groups and backgrounds confidently claiming public spaces throughout the city.
An all-women team of 12 talented muralists from across the country conceptualized and designed the mural along with Swati Kharbanda. The campaign is inspired by Rebecca Solnit’s City of Women Project and celebrates the role of the expansive public transport system in empowering the women of Delhi by giving them safe mobility, access, and freedom throughout the city.
The ‘City of Women’ campaign endeavors to build a tribe of fearless and independent women who claim the city and inspire others to do so. The campaign mascot, ‘Mast Mauli,’ conceptualized by the team at Nori Narrative, is a vivacious young woman who personifies the women of Delhi. A social media campaign titled #WomenOfDelhiMetro has also been launched, which highlights the inspiring stories of everyday women commuters of the Delhi Metro.
The mural was inaugurated on March 6 by Sh. Vikas Kumar, Managing Director, DMRC, and Dr. Shalini Singh, DMRC’s first lady, with the team of muralists and representatives from Vedica and the Nori Narrative. The campaign also includes social media campaigns like #GoAnywhereAnytime, #MaiBhiMastMauli, #Chalein, and #AbMeriBhiDilli.
According to Anuradha Das Mathur, Founder & Dean, Vedica Foundation, “This project is a testament to the power of art and women’s collective action in creating a safer, more inclusive world for all.” The ‘City of Women’ campaign is an effort to enable women to have a life of independence and dignity and change the negative narrative of Delhi-NCR being unsafe for women.
