Blank Noise Project & I Don't Want Dowry.com

I subscribe to the Chandigarh-based Tribune newspaper's e-newsletter. As usual, the newsletter for the 25th of June, 2006 arrived in my Inbox. Like all newspapers, they too have weekly specials, one among them being 'Society'. On that day, the Tribune had carried an article about how women blog as much as men. They also had another article about Indian women bloggers titled 'Sisters at home'. (read both here)

The article about Indian women went on to describe a blog known as the 'Blank Noise Project'. If you are a regular reader of The Hindu, then you might have come across Kalpana Sharma's articles on women in The Hindu's Sunday supplement, 'Magazine'. Some time back, she had mentioned about the Blank Noise Project. I had wanted to check the site, but with other pressures, it went to the back of my mind. The Tribune article reminded me of it.

The aim of the Blank Noise Project project is simple: Whenever a woman is eve-teased, the first question that pops up is, "What was she wearing?" The woman may have worn the dress because she likes it, or because she wants to be up-to-date in the latest trends, but never to be eve-teased. So the Project aims to fight this tendency, in a unique way: It asks women to send in the dresses they were wearing when they were eve-teased. (Hmmm.... should say its a nice plan).

Also, check out their 'Eve Teasers Unwanted' list (on the right side of the page). Q: What were the eve-teasers thinking when they posed for those photos?

Now onto the I Don't Want Dowry site. I Don't Want Dowry is actually a matrimonial site. The image on their home page aptly sums up what the site stands for. What does it stand for? Well, unlike traditional matrimonial sites, (where you decide to meet up with a prospective groom, and then find out that he is the I-want-dowry type), I Don't Want Dowry is exclusively for prospective brides/grooms who oppose dowry. So, if you are against dowry, then you can feel confident that the groom whom you met on this site is like-minded. That ups your confidence a bit, right?

The makers of this site say that their aim is

"eventually to eradicate the Dowry system which is a thousand years old setback in the society!"

They also claim that this is the first service of its kind in the world. Registration on the site is free.