Have you ladies ever groped a man in the dark?
Have you ladies ever leered at a man asked him "let's have fun baby"?
Does any man carry pepper spray, knife, taser or any other stuff to protect yourself from molestation and rape?
I am quite sure that the answers to all the questions above is a resounding NO. NO, a word which falls on deaf ears when uttered by a woman. All thanks to power, patriarchy and good ol' bollywood. Because, we all know (insert casual smirk) "Ladkiyon ki Na mein hi unki Haan hain", or like "Who cares what they say. We'll do what we want."
Bengaluru welcomed New Year this time with mass molestation. A molestation that took place in spite of the presence of 1500 policemen and women. I would not go into the details of the incident, not only because you can read it up online, but because its downright pathetic and traumatising for me as a woman.
Instead I would like to write here what I am feeling right now.
I am feeling helpless, as helpless as the goat, who knows its going to be slaughtered. Despite evidence and eye-witness, no FIR was lodged against a single person in Bengaluru. So, basically if I am molested tomorrow in public or private, the first thing that would be looked down upon would be my clothes. Because God forbid, if I am wearing jeans and top, then I was asking to be molested. If I was not, then I was asking for attention which lead to molestation
Remember people the 5-year-old girl in Delhi who was brutally raped? What was she wearing?
Every time I step out of the house, my bag looks like I am going to fight a war or I am on to a secret mission.
KEEP DEO BOTTLE CLOSE, SO THAT YOU CAN REACH FAST.
TIE YOUR HAIR WITH SOMETHING SHARP TO INJURE YOUR ATTACKER.
KEEP YOUR BAG IN FRONT TO COVER YOUR BREAST, LEAST ANYONE PAWS OR GROPES.
DON'T WEAR TOO HIGH HEELS SO THAT YOUR CAN'T RUN.
There are more, but I won't write about them all. Who knows if some one starts up another useless, waste of time hashtag on twitter like #Notallmen. Its is almost like,
"Girl, I know you got molested and that's really bad. I feeeeeeel for you girl, but you see, #Notallmen are rapists"
No, not all men are rapists, but all women feels threatened and helpless all the time. I know my little rant won't change anything, but still to everyone out there, let's do something more productive than coming up with defensive twitter hashtags. To the each and every person in the government and civil authorities, who are refraining from taking action and are shooting their mouth like sexist pigs, I'll be blunt and would say the next line unashamedly.
How would you feel if you are dragged to a group of unknown strangers, held down and got your private parts touched?
If the thought made you shiver, then stop talking and start working. Its past high time to do so.
Peace.
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