Mumbai Girl's essay on sexual harrassment (Why Did You Touch Her?) is terribly sad. Perhaps saddest is when she concludes: I don't have a single Indian girlfriend who hasn't been groped or sexually assaulted in one way or another. Not a single one.
That prompted me to give this some thought. And like Mumbai Girl, I cannot think of a single Indian woman I know (meaning the ones I know well enough to discuss this with) who has not been through one or the other experience like this.
One of these women I know grew up in what is considered a "safe" housing colony, a pleasant place to bring up kids. She says that every single one of the girls about her age in that colony were fondled and groped by a married man there. Yet nobody spoke out, not even the girls' mothers. Because that would "spoil" the girls' "reputations."
I sometimes see that man walking about. My fingers and hands itch.
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4 comments:
Yes, it's sad. Not the fact that a man touches a woman but the fact that a protest would mean the loss of their "honour".
I think topic is broader.
its not just a "shame" for the girls, but also for the boys. The percentages are probably way lower.
But I do think, in our society,if a boy went and complained to his parents, it doesnt increase the chance of it being spoken against.
a sexual crime is still a taboo, irrespective of the victim.
hey dilip. couldn't agree with you more. i live in chennai which is as male dominated as they come. the same thing happens here with very little being reported for the same reasons. worse, the men try and dominate in other ways, such as a 'dress code' for women at the univ. check out 'whither kamasutra?' on my blog. the issue is now in the open with a lot of heated debate in the papers. lets hope some good comes of it.
Terrible. Even the women who participated in the Indian leg of the Amazing Race mentioned that they would never visit India because they were all groped here.
Dilip - Regards that dirty old man, well i do wish the people from the colony took the example of the women from Nagpur lunching the rapist. I know it is wishful thinking, but please all the affected people of the colony need to break his hands and legs one night - or is he well connected. Else get somebody to do the dirty work for you.
Send me a coded message when the good work has been done.
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