There are 600 million women in India — yet they are rarely seen outdoors after sunset because of safety concerns like harassment and catcalls. On a mission to create safer public spaces, women’s rights advocate Srishti Bakshi talks about how she embarked on a 2,300-mile walk across the length of India (a distance equivalent to traveling from New York City to Los Angeles), conducting driving workshops to empower women’s mobility across the country. “The more women see other women in public spaces, the more safe, independent and empowered each of us will be,” Bakshi says.
If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas:
Follow TED!
Twitter:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:
The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.
Watch more: go.ted.com/srishtibakshi
TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at
Sarah😻
May 30, 2022 at 11:42 am
Great presentation
Barry Allen
May 30, 2022 at 12:01 pm
Were they all out of sammich bread that day?
RAYNE
May 30, 2022 at 12:06 pm
Good lord…this woman is awful, she created a huge media storm out of jealousy, a few years back because her (female)co-star got an award for acting.
Vesa Wuoristo
May 30, 2022 at 2:03 pm
Well considering what women have to go through here and even more elsewhere it is amazing they are not all insane
PRESIDENT_CHAD
May 30, 2022 at 2:12 pm
What do you mean?
sea bird
May 30, 2022 at 12:09 pm
another speach with the word india every 10 secondes ……………… Boring
Areefa Ali
May 30, 2022 at 12:09 pm
Credible
SOPHEAK TY TY
May 30, 2022 at 12:15 pm
Unbelievable. Power girl.
Anarcho Capitalism is Contradiction
May 30, 2022 at 12:23 pm
Or we could just arm women and overthrow Capitalism and force the West to decline their empires
Bill Kim
May 30, 2022 at 12:26 pm
So so inspiring!!!
Meloney Moore
May 30, 2022 at 12:27 pm
Thank you for you and all the other women for acting and stepping out on such tremendous courage in India. ❤
Sparrow Holistic
May 30, 2022 at 1:02 pm
I fully agree, the key is “stepping” out…her presence made her movement possible + the happenstance of the scooter driver showing up at the same time, woah!
moongirlsforthewin
May 30, 2022 at 12:41 pm
This is incredible!
Ter Tarantulas
May 30, 2022 at 12:42 pm
This is the biggest prop scam. Wake up. This isn’t fact, this is an agenda and it’s not to help women.
Aurora Australis
May 30, 2022 at 12:53 pm
💃🎇
Sparrow Holistic
May 30, 2022 at 1:00 pm
I was on the edge of my seat watching this. this is incredible and beautiful. I had chills from the start. I am dedicated to empowering feminine-energy-biased beings through menstrual alignment and tapping in to the power of their periods and all the phases that show up during the (on average) 28-day cycle. I don’t know if the speaker reads this, but I would love to make my online course available to your drivers, so that I might offer something to your movement. I am seriously blown away by this. ❤️
Dongdong Yang
May 30, 2022 at 1:52 pm
Хорошо сказано, хорошо сказано.
Vesa Wuoristo
May 30, 2022 at 2:04 pm
Very very brave to do anything like this .
Gwelf Cosmos
May 30, 2022 at 2:05 pm
Being able to go outside your house, without being sexually abused, seems like a basic condition to enjoy life! I got a lot to say about the low level of male consciousness, but for now my wish is that all girls learn how to physically fight back. And hit hard.
Jeff Milligan
May 30, 2022 at 3:19 pm
According to Indian law women can assault men and the men have no recourse whatsoever. According to Indian law, men can not be victims of DV. So what about that? How could there be any male victims, if there are no laws to protect them? Kinda like how in England men can not be victims of rape cuz according to UK law, men can not be raped by women. Or in the US where men can not be raped according to law, only “made to penetrate” which is downgraded to just a sexual assault. So what about men’s rights? How can there be any recognized male victims, when there are no laws to protect men? This is truly an Orwellian nightmare for men. I thought feminism was supposed to be about gender equality? So why do men not have equal rights? In India there are many men’s rights activists but they are just told they are sexist. Why? Shouldn’t men have equal rights?
Prady
May 30, 2022 at 3:36 pm
This has to be a shitpost
Jeff Milligan
May 30, 2022 at 4:22 pm
@Prady It is not. All these things are true. Just look them up. Men should have equal legal rights. No?
Prady
May 30, 2022 at 7:34 pm
@Jeff Milligan Yes but this is not the time or place to preach that. It just makes you look like child throwing a tantrum. Why not go make your own tedx talk about how you get assaulted every day by women and are afraid to go out at night? Men and women have different social issues to overcome. The way you worded your comment completely dismisses their concerns.
Jeff Milligan
May 31, 2022 at 1:09 am
@Prady How is it not the time? I was a victim of dv myself. And i know in India I would not even be able to be a victim by law! It is outrageous that men are not even protected by law. You don’t think this is an issue and that abused men should just shut up and take it? Go get my own TED talk i guess. Ok.
Prady
May 31, 2022 at 2:00 am
@Jeff Milligan I’m sorry you had to go through what you did, no one should have to go through with that. And I agree that everyone should be criminally charged equally, its a issue that needs to be addressed in the east and west. However the issue that was mentioned in this video is separate, this is a social and cultural issue. Fact of the matter is males (in general, and in comparison to women) do not have to be as afraid of walking outside in the fear of being sexually assaulted. Sexual assault is a crime, and people will get charged for it, but people are doing it anyways and not getting caught. I was critisizing your initial comment because it seemed to dismiss the video’s concerns entirely with “oh but what about men?”.
Jeff Milligan
May 31, 2022 at 2:41 am
@Prady Saying “what about the men” does not negate or disregard the subject at hand being about women. If feminism is supposed to be about equality, then men should in fact say “what about the men” if they are being sidelined and excluded from the conversation. Again, how can we even see men as victims of crime perpetrated by women, if there are no laws to protect them? If this was the other way around there would be total outrage that there are no laws to protect women. But when it’s men we are just told to shut up and take it.
Shariyar Shajid
May 30, 2022 at 4:00 pm
Salute for such an amazing work.
The Psyche Gym
May 30, 2022 at 5:54 pm
Very inspiring project; Trying to prevent people, in this case, women, from going through the pain you went through.
tb
May 30, 2022 at 6:17 pm
wa wa wa wa wa wa we have long hair and different body… wa wa wa
Another mean troll
May 30, 2022 at 6:37 pm
Women already have freedom. They have for years and years and years. Nice try though
Cynical Optimist
May 30, 2022 at 7:12 pm
She doesn’t understand
the tremendous social and
cultural ramifications of what she’s talking about.
If you believe that financial independence, owning your means of transportation and learning self-defense will free you from the supposed tyranny of a patriarchal society, then you also have to question what happens to the women who wish to live out that feminist theory; do they understand the psychological, spiritual, physical and financial stressors of life with or without the convenience and covering of a man or are they simply suppose to figure it out decades later, after the sociological and psychological damage has been done?
Seldom make history
May 30, 2022 at 10:47 pm
Such inspiration! I would love to see more of it
Dongyang Chen
May 30, 2022 at 11:21 pm
You are really brave, from inside and outside
Shivanshi Rawat
May 31, 2022 at 3:18 am
Very inspirational , a great positive change in making !!
Duong Tran
May 31, 2022 at 4:08 am
VIDEO MAP 2.57′ NAME IS WRONG.
WHY IS SOUTH CHINA SEA??
WHY IS EAST CHINA SEA??
ABDU SALAM
May 31, 2022 at 6:17 am
If we can learn how to walk certainly we can fly… ..uffff nyce talk 👍
Prakhar
May 31, 2022 at 7:54 am
So inspiring!! kudos to you mam and all the women who are showing the real power of India.
Jeffrey Green
May 31, 2022 at 10:14 am
❤️
Viral Trending Shorts
May 31, 2022 at 1:12 pm
Inspiration ❤️
Joshua Suttle
June 1, 2022 at 2:46 am
India is that way sorry and many other countries are as well, it is very hard to change how something or an idea that has been indoctrinated into a person or whole society. America is the land of the free for many reasons of course like all countries we definitely have problems and many things we need to work on to make better. In America you have a chance even if not born into a chance because you have free will to be able to learn. The more knowledge a person can gain the more they can change the entire direction of their own life and even others around them as progression takes place. The truth is if more tried to be good and do what is generally kind and brings peace then that will help to heal the world. It is easier to be evil than good I know that sounds strange but it’s true. It is harder to be who a person is meant to be because it takes struggle and it takes going against the grain. I am glad you are on a mission and that is how it all changes and your positive energy will make a difference!
Brijesh Srikanth
June 1, 2022 at 8:35 am
I always wondered how world would be if woman had taken control of world from start. Would we have infra the way it is today?
Ziyad Al Saab
June 1, 2022 at 8:46 am
Seriously asking with no intention to be disrespectful, how could walking to support an important matter be beneficial?!
Kwan Vincent
June 1, 2022 at 11:18 am
Don’t understand why western countries always keep silent to this basic human right that India women never have ever.
Imemelda Viernes
June 1, 2022 at 4:38 pm
Seeing?…how about teaching women some basic….knowledge that they r persons..individuals………..that have human rights….n that they nvr hav to tolerate such violence on womankind….(also some basic self defense…etc..to they won’t easily fall prey to d wiles of unscrupulous persons…ASAP……so sad to hear sometimes that girls r still violated n yet no effctv steps seem to b undertaken to see to it that justice n punishmnt s carried out. …need for..Intervention certainly….might b the clarion call we need to hear..for us to blv that ..there’s the serious move to help the vctms n prevnt any further harm to womankind
BEIBEI SHAO
June 2, 2022 at 8:47 am
I am really touched by the speakers’ actions.
arun
June 3, 2022 at 2:23 am
We call it Mother land! There is lot of respect for women in India.
rainbow98982 meedikerisrinivas
June 3, 2022 at 6:25 am
…………..✍
maria karam
June 4, 2022 at 6:11 pm
😍😍😍❤️❤️❤️
Karing Taylor
June 5, 2022 at 2:12 pm
Brave and take much courage to do this in India