Women on Twitter Are Reclaiming Open Spaces With #AintNoCinderella

Twitter came out in support of Varnika Kundu in large numbers after she was victim-blamed for being stalked.

Women are shutting down everyone who thinks that roaming at night causes stalking. 

(Photo: Twitter/Altered by The Quint)

The Varnika Kundu stalking incident has relaunched the public discussion on women’s safety after dark. After her Facebook post went viral, Varnika was trolled for an old photo of her with her friends, who some claimed included Vikas Barala.

Soon, she was being blamed for being out so late. BJP state leader Ramveer Bhatti, talking to CNN-News18 said, “The girl should not have gone out at 12 in the night. Why was she driving so late in the night? The atmosphere is not right. We need to take care of ourselves.”

Women, outraged at this comment, began tweeting out photos of themselves outside at night with the hashtag #AintNoCinderella.

Twitter With Varnika

“Don’t tell me what to wear...”

Men were not far behind

Varnika Kundu was driving alone at night in Chandigarh, when she was followed by two men in a Tata Safari Storm SUV. She claimed, in a Facebook post, that at one point the SUV blocked her way and one of the men jumped out of it and started walking towards her vehicle.

While the two men, Vikas and Ashish, were nabbed by Chandigarh police, they were soon set free as the charges against them were bailable. Varnika’s post garnered media attention as one of the accused, Vikas Barala, is Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala’s son.

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