Even in India’s most modern city, women must still navigate an oppressive set of taboos. The unwritten rules make them cautious of their movements and their attire, restrict their behavior and infect their thinking.

Roshnee Desai’s visual art challenges those social norms. Her works — short films, cartoons and even the upholstery in a Mumbai taxicab — all seek to get people thinking and talking about women’s rights and social issues.

Desai’s subject is the life of a modern woman in Mumbai, the heart of India’s corporate sector, headquarters to the country’s biggest finance firms and home to the Hindi film industry. The city’s liberal lifestyle encourages young women to be independent, partake in the nightlife, and travel freely. Yet they still deal with men’s ogling, unsolicited gestures and catcalling.

Women and transportation is a common theme in Desai’s work. Perhaps her most well-known project, the “Men’s Only Taxi,” is a cab whose seat covers, ceiling and door panels are covered with images of women and rules, in Hindi and Marathi, that women are supposed to follow: “Be home before 7.” ”Don’t spread your legs wide.” “Don’t talk too loudly.” The ceiling poses the question: “Do these rules apply to me as well?”

For men who are accustomed to traveling freely in the city, Desai intends for the taxi to invoke empathy, forcing them to think as women do when going about town.

Read the full article by Esha Chhabra about women oppression ImpactAlpha