Gawd! I have not written in a long time. And it's not because I had nothing to say or had no time or no internet connection. I just felt too overwhelmed. Sounds weak but I have been. With just too many things in my life. The good. The bad. The ugly. The beautiful.
I am back in Delhi and I have had quite the crazy 7-months here. It's hard to adjust to Delhi and her aggression, apathy and atrocities. I have had many incidents but there are four that really stands out and shook me up.
1) Three guys on a bike tried to snatch my phone. But I fought back and they fled. Plus there was a security guard who saw this but did nothing. It was 6:00pm
2) Witnessed a mother and daughter get molested in front of me when trying to get an auto to head to work. The same man tried to molest me but I thwarted his hand away. The three of us tried to apprehend him but a group of men just said, "why are you making a big deal out of it...it happens everyday...you should just let it go...you guys didn't get hurt..." That perverted man got away. It was 9:15am. Rush hour. Lots of witnesses but no one did anything.
3) I slapped a man who touched me in the middle of the road around 3:00pm. My brother was with me when this happened.
4) Last night, as I was going home in an auto, a car with three men followed me. Taunting at me. They even tried to stop the auto. But luckily I reached home safely. But at one point we had to stop at a red light, and even though others could see that I was being harassed, nobody did anything to stop those men.
5) When I narrated some of these incidents to some of friends, a guy friend of mine said, "Well, maybe you should just avoid these kinds of places." That really shocked me because here was this person who was a son, brother, husband and a father to a daughter and he thought that I should avoid these kind of "situations".
All these things have angered me and frustrated me and I have shed a few tears over it. But I am not backing down. In fact, I am more gung-ho to change things around me and especially with people around me. :)
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2 comments:
ohmygoodness... that is crazy, Ati Mo!! be careful!!
i don't want to sound insensitive... but i kinda understand what your guy friend said... try and avoid isolated, creepy, dark places when you're out alone or just with one other girl friend at night. cuz really... we can't "change" the lecherous desires of some people... no matter how decently we dress or how many "slut walks" people may organise... that's just the sad truth of it...
or! carry pepper spray ALWAYS. so that if you're out in those scary creepy times of the day... spray the eyes outta those bastards!!!!! damn right!
That is why I mentioned the time of the day when all the attacks happened. And also I was nowhere near isolated, creepy dark places. There was still light and I was wearing "conservative" clothes and in areas that are "reputed" to be family-centric areas and in market places. The reason I wrote this was to highlight that no matter what "decent" time or place you are in, you still get attacked and nobody helps you. Things need to change. And I always carry a pepper spray and the last two times I thwarted the attacks was because I have been taking Krav Maga Self Defense classes. BUT despite all the precautions, these things still happen. So people's mindsets need to CHANGE!
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