Project Sahaara · Born in Kolkata

You are not alone.

Project Sahaara is a safe, anonymous space for women to share their experiences of sexual assault, harassment, and violence in public spaces — and to hold each other close through it.

Share Your Story → Read Stories

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What happened to you matters. You do not need to explain yourself.

Women from the Project Sahaara community standing together at a Kolkata event

Sahaara community gathering · Kolkata

Two women in conversation at a Sahaara event

What is Sahaara

A whisper network, built by women, for women.

Project Sahaara was born in Kolkata — a city of contradictions, where women navigate crowded streets, public transport, and everyday spaces carrying experiences they rarely speak aloud. We started with a simple belief: that silence should never be the only option. Sahaara is a forum, a whisper network, and a community — built by women, for women.

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Tell your story in your own words, at your own pace, without ever revealing your identity.

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Support

Read others' stories, offer solidarity, and remind each other that we are believed.

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Alert

Flag dangerous locations and patterns so other women can stay informed and stay safer.

Stories Feed

Real experiences, shared by real women.

These are real experiences, shared by real women. Read them with care. Every story here was shared in trust.

Kolkata — Metro Public Transport

"It was a Tuesday afternoon on the metro. Rush hour. A man pressed himself against me deliberately and when I moved, he followed. I was too frozen to speak…"

Kolkata — Park Street Stalking

"He started waiting outside my office. Every evening. I changed my route, then my hours. He found me again. I told no one for months…"

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Whisper Alert · Pinned

Multiple reports of a man following women from the Gariahat market area to the 45 bus stop, particularly between 6–8 PM. Stay alert. Travel with company if possible.

These are active alerts flagged by our moderators based on patterns in reported stories. No names are used — only locations and behaviours.

Community & Events

We meet, we listen, we build the network together.

Beyond the website, Sahaara comes alive through panels, workshops, and meetups across Kolkata — moments where the whisper network becomes a room full of voices.

Panel discussion on women's safety at a Kolkata event — Panel · Kolkata Voices on women's safety, mental health & community

Community outreach moment at a Sahaara event — Outreach Reaching women across the city, one hand at a time

A moment of recognition at a community event — Recognition Honouring the women who hold this work together

The full panel on stage at a Sahaara event — In partnership With Sudhamta Foundation & Reboot · Kolkata

Resources

Know your rights. Know where to turn.

Crisis Helplines

Women's Helpline National 181 iCall Psychological support 9152987821 Vandrevala Foundation 24/7 1860-2662-345 Snehi Emotional support 044-24640050

The POSH Act, 2013

The Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act protects women from harassment in professional environments. Every organisation with 10 or more employees is required to have an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). You have the right to file a complaint within 3 months of an incident.

IPC Sections to Know

354 — Assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty
354A — Sexual harassment and punishment
354D — Stalking
509 — Word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman

How to File a Complaint

You can file an FIR at any police station. You have the right to have a female officer record your statement. You can also approach the State Women's Commission directly.

Downloadable Guides

↓ Know Your Rights PDF ↓ How to File an FIR PDF ↓ POSH Act Explained Simply PDF

What to Do After an Incident

01
Get to a safe place first — your wellbeing comes before anything else.
02
Write down everything you remember — time, location, description, witnesses.
03
If there are visible injuries, seek medical attention and ask for documentation.
04
Reach out to someone you trust, or call one of our helplines.
05
Report if and when you feel ready — at a police station, or anonymously here.

You do not have to report to heal. But if you choose to, we will help you understand how.

Support Organisations — Kolkata & Beyond

Sanhita Gender Resource Centre Kolkata

Swayam Kolkata

iCall Mumbai · Online counselling

Human Rights Law Network Legal aid

MASUM Mahila Saman Adhikar Samiti

Aanya, Founder of Project Sahaara, at a community event in Kolkata

About the Founder

I started Sahaara because I was tired of the silence.

I grew up in Kolkata, and like most women I know, I have been followed, touched, and spoken to in ways that made me feel like my body was not my own — on buses, in markets, near my own home. And like most women I know, I said nothing. Not because it didn't matter. But because no one had ever made it feel safe to speak.

Sahaara is the space I wish had existed for me. It is not a place to seek justice — the systems for that are broken and slow. It is a place to be heard, to hear others, to warn each other, and to remember that what happened to us was not our fault and we are not alone in it.

I started this in Kolkata in 2023. I want to take it everywhere.

Aanya Founder, Project Sahaara

Vision

One day, Sahaara will exist in every city in India — a living, breathing whisper network that makes women a little safer, a little less alone, and a little more believed.

You are not alone.

A whisper network, built by women, for women.